Studies on the Cytotoxicity and Antioxidant Activity of Tea Kombucha
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Date
2015-08
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University Of Ghana
Abstract
Fermentation of sugared tea with a symbiotic culture of acetic acid bacteria and yeast (tea
fungus) yields kombucha tea which is consumed worldwide for its refreshing taste and
beneficial effects on human health. It is claimed to prevent various types of cancer and
cardiovascular diseases, promote liver function, and stimulate the immune system. The antiproliferative
and antioxidant activities of tea kombucha and unfermented tea were, therefore,
investigated in this study. The cytotoxic effect of the tea kombucha was studied using an
MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium) assay while its antioxidant
activity was performed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and reducing power (the
ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP)) assays. The total phenolic content of the tea
kombucha was also studied using the modified Folin-Ciocalteau colorimetric assay. It was
observed that the antioxidant activity of tea kombucha was higher compared to the
unfermented tea and this reflected in the total phenolics contents. Tea kombucha had 2.4-fold
and 7.3-fold significantly (p<0.05) higher phenolic content at concentrations of 2.5 and 5.0
mg/ml, respectively than the unfermented tea. The tea kombucha showed insignificantly low
cytotoxicity against the Jurkat P9 leukemia cells many orders of magnitude below that of the
standard drug, curcumin, which had an IC50 = 7.22 mg/ml whilst the unfermented tea was
without such effect. These results suggest that kombucha tea with its high antioxidant
activity may help protect cells against oxidative damage and possibly cancer
Description
Thesis (MSc) - University Of Ghana, 2015
Keywords
Cytotoxicity, Antioxidant