Oak kombucha protects against oxidative stress and inflammatory processes.

Black tea infusion is the common substrate for preparing kombucha; however other sources such as oak leaves infusions can be used for the same purpose. Almost any white oak species have been used for medicinal applications by some ethnic groups in Mexico and could be also suitable for preparing kombucha analogues from oak (KAO). The objective of this research was to investigate the antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory effects of KAO by examining its modulation ability on macrophage-derived TNF-alpha and IL-6. Herbal infusions from oak and black tea were fermented by kombucha consortium during seven days at 28 °C. Chemical composition was determined by LC-ESI-MS/MS. The antioxidant activity of samples against oxidative damage caused by H