| Abstract
| - The market for decaffeinated coffees has been increasingly expanding over the years. Caffeineextraction may result in losses of other compounds such as chlorogenic acids (CGA) and,consequently, their 1,5-γ-quinolactones (CGL) in roasted coffee. These phenolic compounds areimportant for flavor formation as well as the health effects of coffee; therefore, losses due todecaffeination need to be investigated. The present study evaluates the impact of decaffeinationprocessing on CGA and CGL levels of green and roasted arabica coffees. Decaffeination produceda 16% average increase in the levels of total CGA in green coffee (dry matter), along with a 237%increase in CGL direct precursors. Different degrees of roasting showed average increments of 5.5−18% in CGL levels of decaffeinated coffee, compared to regular, a change more consistent withobserved levels of total CGA than with those of CGL direct precursors in green samples. On theother hand, CGA levels in roasted coffee were 3−9% lower in decaffeinated coffee compared toregular coffee. Although differences in CGA and CGL contents of regular and decaffeinated roastedcoffees appear to be relatively small, they may be enough to affect flavor characteristics as well asthe biopharmacological properties of the final beverage, suggesting the need for further study. Keywords: Coffee; decaffeinated coffee; chlorogenic acids; chlorogenic acid lactones; quinides; coffeeprocessing
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