Let’s talk about coffee. One of the most popular beverages in the world that contain multitude of antioxidants and between them coffee brew showed high antioxidant capacity in in vitro and in vivo tests. The antioxidant that included in this little bean is mainly the chlorogenic acids (CQA-caffeoylquinic acids), especially Green coffee extracts show efficiency to reduce visceral fat and body weight.
Species of coffee that usually consumed is Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora var. robusta that belong to Rubiaceae family. Arabica usually comes from the uplands and mountain areas of East Africa &South America, however the main places of Robusta is the lowlands of Central & West Africa, South & Southeast Asia.
There is study that compare 2 type of green coffee that come from various countries. Coffee from Vietnam (Gr2 decaffeinated e 221 mg/L of brew) has the highest concentration of three main chlorogenic acids (5-CQA, 4-CQA, 3-CQA) among Robusta coffee type. The solvent used and moisture of beans after the processes may influence this results (steaming or decaffeination of coffee beans). Steaming of Robusta coffee is a method improving and creating the specific acidic taste and flavour unique.
Green coffee brews possess high antioxidant capacity and they are rich in exogenous antioxidants such as 5-, 4- and 3-CQA, the chlorogenic acids with other phenolic acids and flavonoids are the enzymatic antioxidants. Other elements such as Mn, Cu, or Se may play a role in endogenous antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase or Se-glutathione peroxidase.
Correlations between concentration of Cu and chlorogenic acids of Robusta Vietnam coffee brews (r2 . 0.4847) may be important for human health because these compounds are involved in antioxidative defense system of the organism. Copper and manganium are the part of endogenous antioxidants and radical scavengers.
To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first report on the direct influence of the decaffeination and steaming processes on the changes in the Se, Cu, and Mn concentrations in green coffee beans.
[1] Jeszka-Skowron, M. Stanisz, E., De Pena, M. P. 2016. Relationship between antioxidant capacity chlorogenic acids and elemental composition of green coffee. LWT – Food Science and Technology. 73: 243-250.
