Volume 8 Number 1 2025
Fermented Alcoholic Beverages and Gut Microbiota: A Double-Edged Interaction Between Microbes, Polyphenols, and Ethanol – A Systematic Review
Normurodova Kunduz Togaevna 1*, Vakhabov Abdurasul Khakimovich 1, Tashmukhamedova Shokhista Sabirovna 1, Shurygin Vyacheslav Vladimirovich 1, Kadirova Zukhra Ahrorovna 1, Abdusamatov Sokhibjon Abdusamatovich 1
Microbial Bioactives 8 (1) 1-8 https://doi.org/10.25163/microbbioacts.8110421
Submitted: 11 August 2025 Revised: 06 October 2025 Accepted: 12 October 2025 Published: 16 October 2025
Abstract
The interplay between alcohol consumption and gut health represents a nuanced biological narrative shaped by beverage type, fermentation process, and intake level. While chronic or excessive alcohol consumption is well-documented to disrupt gut microbiota, impair intestinal permeability, and promote systemic inflammation, emerging research suggests that traditionally fermented beverages—such as natural wine and unpasteurized beer—may exert subtle, probiotic-like effects. This systematic review synthesizes findings across microbiology, nutrition, and gastroenterology to elucidate how diverse alcoholic beverages influence microbial diversity, intestinal integrity, and host immune responses. Peer-reviewed literature was critically examined for variations in microbial composition, fermentation quality, and metabolic outcomes. Evidence indicates that polyphenols and live microbes in minimally processed alcoholic beverages can enrich beneficial bacterial genera, including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, while enhancing short-chain fatty acid production. However, these benefits are transient and easily negated by ethanol-induced dysbiosis and mucosal inflammation under excessive intake. The modest microbial advantages observed in certain traditional ferments appear to derive from their bioactive compounds rather than from alcohol itself. Conversely, industrial processing methods, such as pasteurization and filtration, largely eliminate these bioactive and microbial components, rendering most commercial alcoholic beverages microbiologically inert. Overall, while moderate consumption of naturally fermented alcohol may confer limited gut-modulating effects, the adverse consequences of overconsumption far outweigh any potential benefits. Non-alcoholic fermented foods remain a more effective and safer strategy to promote gut health and microbial resilience.
Keywords: Probiotics, Gut Microbiota, Fermented Alcohol, Polyphenols, Dysbiosis
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