Antihyperglycaemic efficacy of kombucha in streptozotocin-induced rats

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage produced by fermenting sugared black tea with kombucha mat (consists of bacteria and yeast strains). Diabetes mellitus is group of metabolic disorders characterized by hyperglycaemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, action or both. The present study was aimed to delineate the antihyperglycaemic effect of lyophilized extract of kombucha in streptozotocin-induced experimental rats. After the experimental period of 45 days we observed that kombucha supplementation with 6 mg/kg bw significantly decreased glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and increased the levels of plasma insulin, haemoglobin and tissue glycogen which was decreased up on streptozotocin (STZ) treatment and also significantly reversed the altered activities of gluconeogenic enzymes such as glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glycolytic enzymes such as hexokinase in the tissues of experimental rats. Thus, our results substantiate that kombucha found to exert hypoglycaemic effect in STZ-induced diabetic rats. These findings suggest that kombucha may be considered as a potential functional food candidate for future applications as functional food supplement for the treatment and prevention of diabetes.