Factors influencing the norharman and harman contents in espresso coffee

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2007

Authors

Rita C Alves (Author) Other; Susana Casal (Author) FFUP; Beatriz P P Oliveira (Author) FFUP

Journal

Title: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Vol. 55 No. 5

Pages: 1832-1838

ISSN: 0021-8561

Publisher: American Chemical Society

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 26 Citations

Scopus - 30 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Agrarian Sciences > Other Agrarian Sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-004-B72

DOI: 10.1021/jf063128u

Abstract (EN): Espresso coffee (EC) brews were analyzed for beta-carboline [norharman (NH) and harman (H)] contents, by RP-HPLC with fluorescence detection. The influence of the coffee species (arabica or robusta), the roast degree, and the brew length was studied. The results show that the content of NH and H in EC is dependent primarily on the coffee species, followed by brew length. The roast degree has only a minor influence on the final content of NH and H in EC. When compared with other coffee brews, EC has an amount of these beta-carbolines (in micrograms per liter) similar to that of mocha coffee, both being more concentrated than filter and press-pot coffees. Therefore, the consumer's preferences will determine the amount of NH and H ingested daily. For the caffeinated 30 mL of EC, the arabica coffees contain about 4.08 mu g of NH and 1.54 mu g of H. Commercial blends (usually with a maximum of 30% robusta) range from the cited arabica values to 10.37 mu g of NH and 4.35 mu g of H.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7