Trends in kombucha research: a bibliometric and technological prospection analysis

Kombucha is a fermented beverage that is gaining more and more attention due to its biological activities and health benefits. This study presents a bibliometric analysis and technological prospection of the kombucha beverage from 1996 to 2022, with indexed data performed in the Web of Science and the Lens databases for the bibliometric analysis, and VOSviewer was used to analyze the data and provide the bibliometric networks. To date, the United States, China, India, Brazil, and Serbia have contributed to most of the results on kombucha. Jayabalan and Malbasa, affiliated with the University of Bharathiar (India) and University of Novi Sad (Serbia), provide the most productive research. Research on kombucha is focused on the biological activities, health benefits, fermentative process, composition, and microbiology. The United States and China have the most number of patents, with the main depositors being private companies such as reGenics, Shi Weiyao, and EPC Natural Products Co Ltd. This analysis makes it possible to understand the trends and gaps in kombucha research, providing researchers with future perspectives aimed at deepening the knowledge about kombucha.