Tepache: A Pre-Hispanic Fermented Beverage as a Potential Source of Probiotic Yeasts
Haydee Eliza Romero‐Luna, Audry Peredo-Lovillo, Gloria Dávila-Ortíz
Abstract
In Mexico, there is a great variety of traditional fermented beverages of pre-Hispanic origin prepared from vegetables and fruits. Their consumption has been associated with improved human health, such as Tepache. However, only a few studies have been directed to define what the benefits of pineapple Tepache are due to, despite being used for curative purposes; it is thought that the benefits could be associated with the presence of microorganisms (probiotics), which carry out the fermentation and which remain viable in the beverage when ingested. So, this study aimed to evaluate in vitro the probiotic potential of yeasts isolated from Tepache. Three yeasts from Tepache were identified, of which two were identified as Saccharomyces paradoxus and one as Saccharomycodes ludwigii, which had not been previously reported in Tepache. The three yeasts were able to survive under conditions that simulate the gastrointestinal tract, to adhere to mucin in high percentages. They exerted excellent antioxidant activity and they were sensitive to antimycotics, except for Saccharomycodes ludwigii, which was resistant to fluconazole, and they did not present hemolysis. According to these results, yeasts can be considered as microorganisms with probiotic potential, in addition to pointing to Tepache as a source of yeasts with probiotic characteristics, which could generate benefits for the health of the host, including the prevention of diseases related to reactive oxygen species.