Tibicos
Tibicos, or water kefir, is a traditional
created by the bacteria. It is sometimes consumed as an alternative to milk-based probiotic drinks or tea-cultured products such as kombucha. Water kefir is typically made as a probiotic homebrew beverage. The finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage.Cultures
Tibicos cultures are found around the world, with no two being exactly the same; but typical tibicos have a mix of
As with
Origin
The origin of tibicos grains is not known exactly.[3] The grains called ginger beer plant, which according to Martinus Beijerinck[4] were brought by the British soldiers while returning to their country from the Crimean War in 1855 (although this was dismissed as an unsubstantiated myth by Harry Marshall Ward as early as 1892 [5] and its real origins remain a mystery), were defined by Harry Marshall Ward as "beverage containing a symbiotic mixture of yeast and bacteria, and containing sufficient amounts of nitrogenous organic matter and beet sugar or cane sugar in its aqueous solution".[5] This description is probably the first published account of the water kefir culture.[6] As a different theory, Lutz (1899) reported "Tibi grains" which were plucked from the leaves of a Mexican cactus (Opuntia).[7][2] These granules then could be reconstituted in a sugar-water solution for propagating the tibicos grains.[3] Another study found a similar tibicos culture made from bacteria cultured from known stocks with similar properties.[8]
Tibicos are also known as tibi, water kefir grains, sugar kefir grains, Japanese water crystals and California bees, and in older literature as bébées, African bees, Australian bees, ginger bees, vinegar bees, bees, Japanese beer seeds, beer seeds, beer plant, ale nuts, eternity grains,[9] and Balm of Gilead.[3][10] Pidoux in 1898 also identified the sugary kefir grains with the ginger beer plant.[2] Different ingredients or hygienic conditions might also change the bacteriological composition possibly leading to the different names found in scientific literature.
Tibicos are used to brew a variety of tepache known as tepache de tibicos.[11] The ginger beer plant is also a form of tibicos. Kebler attests that they were used in Kentucky circa 1859 to brew a "home drink" and were referred to as "Japanese beer seeds."[10]
Preparation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2020) |
The basic preparation method is for tibicos to be added to a sugary liquid and
Additional precautions are taken to keep the cultures healthy. The use of reactive metals such as aluminium, copper, or zinc are minimised. The acidity of the solution will react with the metals forming metal ions, which could be potentially damaging to the culture. Instead, plastic, lead-free ceramic, or glass containers are commonly used. It is recommended to culture grains in a glass jar and use clean plastic or silicone utensils when handling the grains.
Researchers demonstrated antimicrobial activity during tibicos fermentation, using tibicos grains to ferment different sugar sources, namely, molasses, demerara sugar, and brown sugar. Brown sugar promoted the greatest antimicrobial activities, against the microorganisms
For tibicos grains to grow, a certain water
See also
External links
- An alternative source of probiotics: Water kefir
- Water Kefir: A Review of its Microbiological Profile, Antioxidant Potential and Sensory Quality
- An update on water kefir: Microbiology, composition and production
- Development of new non-dairy beverages from Mediterranean fruit juices fermented with water kefir microorganisms
- Characterization of kefir-like beverages produced from vegetable juice
- Functional Exploitation of Carob, Oat Flour, and Whey Permeate as Substrates for a Novel Kefir-Like Fermented Beverage: An Optimized Formulation
- Development, Characterization, and Bioactivity of Non-Dairy Kefir-Like Fermented Beverage Based on Flaxseed Oil Cake
- Antioxidant potency of water kefir
- Water Kefir and Derived Pasteurized Beverages Modulate Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability and Cytokine Production In Vitro
- Study of anti-inflammatory activity of Tibetan mushroom, a symbiotic culture of bacteria and fungi encapsulated into a polysaccharide matrix
- Probiotic Potential of Lactobacillus paracasei CT12 Isolated from Water Kefir Grains (Tibicos)
- Evaluation of Anti-Hyperglycemic and Anti-Hyperlipidemic Activities of Water Kefir as Probiotic on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Wistar Rats
- Water kefir: Factors affecting grain growth and health-promoting properties of the fermented beverage
- Anti-Inflammatory and Cicatrizing Activities of a Carbohydrate Fraction Isolated from Sugary Kefir
- Antimicrobial Activity of Broth Fermented with Kefir Grains
- Microbial Species Diversity, Community Dynamics, and Metabolite Kinetics of Water Kefir Fermentation
- The Buffer Capacity and Calcium Concentration of Water Influence the Microbial Species Diversity, Grain Growth, and Metabolite Production During Water Kefir Fermentation
- Pollution Abatement of Heavy Metals in Different Conditions by Water Kefir Grains as a Protective Tool against Toxicity
- Quantitative insights on the interaction between metal ions and water kefir grains: kinetics studies and EPR investigations
References
- S2CID 30407268.
- ^ S2CID 83381986.
- ^ PMID 24532061.
- PMID 28576377.
- ^ .
- S2CID 255676470.
- ^ Lutz, L. (1899). "Recherches biologiques sur la constitution du Tibi". Bull. Soc. Mycol. France. 15: 68–72.
- PMID 16746830.
- ^ Sopp, J.O. (1917). Hjemmelagning av øl og vin. Kristiania, Norway: Norli. p. 83.
- ^ .
- S2CID 256073930.
- ^ "Encouraging Water Kefir Grains to Multiply: 7 Tips for Happy & Healthy Grains". 23 June 2022.
- ^ Gross, Ivo (11 July 2023). "The ultimate guide to water kefir". Letsgotomato.com. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "How to Brew Water Kefir: Your #1 Guide to DIY Water Kefir". 8 February 2021.
- S2CID 19989453.
- PMID 31921054.
- PMID 26909240.