Coffee--It Could Be Good for You

FOR RELEASE: (Print & broadcast) Mon., April 14, 12:01 a.m. PDT

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WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE--IT COULD BE GOOD FOR YOU

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14 - The aroma of brewed coffee could have some of the same beneficial health effects that you get from eating fruits and vegetables, according to research being presented here today at the American Chemical Society national meeting. Scientists have long known that coffee beans contain protective chemicals called antioxidants, believed to be helpful against cancer, heart disease, and aging. Now an entirely different set of antioxidants found in the aroma of both regular and decaffeinated brewed coffee could be giving you a different kind of kick in the morning.

Most research on antioxidants has focused on three classes of compounds--phenolics, vitamins and flavonoids. However, Dr. Takayuki Shibamoto of the University of California, Davis, has been investigating the antioxidant potential of a different class of compounds known as heterocyclic compounds. Volatile heterocyclic compounds have been explored mostly for their activity as aroma compounds in cooked foods. Shibamoto reported that each of the roughly 300 heterocyclic compounds found in coffee aroma has low antioxidant activity but when combined--as they are in brewed coffee--the activity is quite high. "It's comparable to a potent antioxidant like vitamin E or vitamin C, and down the line, we may find that the flavor or aroma of coffee may have some beneficial health effects," says Shibamoto. A rough calculation shows that the antioxidant level in the aroma of one cup of coffee is equivalent to three oranges (based on results of a test used by Shibamoto and the average amount of vi

Although previous research has shown that phenolic antioxidants are found in coffee beans, the volatile heterocyclic antioxidants found in the aroma are not present in the coffee bean itself. Instead, these antioxidants are produced as a result of brewing. The high-temperature heating process increases the amount of heterocyclic antioxidants that are formed. These highly volatile compounds then evaporate into ambient air, giving off the distinct aroma of freshly-brewed coffee. Shibamoto adds that aroma antioxidants would enter the body in very small amounts through being smelled; most of the compounds would be taken in through ingestion of the coffee.

Shibamoto also compared the antioxidant activity in the aroma of decaffeinated coffee to that of regular coffee and found no major differences. He says that the next step in his research is to measure the biological activity of these heterocyclic compounds in animals.

This work was funded by the University of California.

AGFD 67 will be presented at 8 p.m., Mon., April 14, in Exhibit Hall D, Moscone Center. The national meeting of the American Chemical Society will be held in San Francisco April 13-17. This paper is among the 7,700 presentations that will be made.

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The American Chemical Society, founded in 1876, is the world's largest scientific society, with more than 151,000 members