The microflora of kefir grains is highly varied Seven varieties of microflora with varying properties were compared in this study. A previous report suggested that Candida kefir, one of the main yeast species in kefir,causes opportunistic infections. Different combinations of the strains,exept Candida kefir, present in kefir grains were examined. ① The weight of kefir grains increased at all combinations. The kefir grain weight,except those of the genus Candida,showed an increase. ② Although it was thought that yeast played a role in imparting rigidity to the kefir grains, Lactobacillus kefiri GKL-2 and L. kefiranofaciens GKL-28 were found to play the main role in imparting rigidity.
