Antioxidant and Sensory Assessment of Innovative Coffee Blends of Reduced Caffeine Content

Considering the current trend in the global coffee market, which involves an increased demand for decaffeinated coffee, the aim of the present study was to formulate coffee blends with reduced caffeine content, but with pronounced antioxidant and attractive sensory properties. For this purpose, green and roasted Arabica and Robusta coffee beans of different origins were subjected to the screening analysis of their chemical and bioactive composition using standard AOAC, spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods. From roasted coffee beans, espresso, Turkish and filter coffees were prepared, and their sensory evaluation was performed using a 10-point hedonic scale. The results showed that Arabica coffee beans were richer in sucrose and oil, while Robusta beans were characterized by higher content of all determined bioactive parameters. Among all studied samples, the highest content of 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (14.09 mg g−1 dmb), 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (8.23 mg g−1 dmb) and 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (4.65 mg g−1 dmb), as well as caffeine (22.38 mg g−1 dmb), was detected in roasted Robusta beans from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, which were therefore used to formulate coffee blends with reduced caffeine content. Robusta brews were found to be more astringent and recognized as more sensorily attractive, while Arabica decaffeinated brews were evaluated as more bitter. The obtained results point out that coffee brews may represent a significant source of phenolic compounds, mainly caffeoylquinic acids, with potent antioxidant properties, even if they have reduced caffeine content.

How Does LC/MS Compare to UV in Coffee Authentication and Determination of Antioxidant Effects? Brazilian and Middle Eastern Coffee as Case Studies

Coffee is a popular beverage owing to its unique flavor and diverse health benefits. The current study aimed at investigating the antioxidant activity, in relation to the phytochemical composition, of authenticated Brazilian green and roasted Coffea arabica and C. robusta, along with 15 commercial specimens collected from the Middle East. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI–HRMS) and UV spectrometry were employed for profiling and fingerprinting, respectively. With the aid of global natural product social molecular networking (GNPS), a total of 88 peaks were annotated as belonging to different chemical classes, of which 11 metabolites are reported for the first time in coffee seeds. Moreover, chemometric tools showed comparable results between both platforms, with more advantages for UV in the annotation of roasting products, suggesting that UV can serve as a discriminative tool. Additionally, antioxidant assays coupled with the UHPLC-ESI–HRMS dataset using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) demonstrated that caffeoylquinic acid and caffeine were potential antioxidant markers in unroasted coffee versus dicaffeoyl quinolactone and melanoidins in roasted coffee. The study presents a multiplex metabolomics approach to the quality control of coffee, one of the most consumed beverages.

Isolation of Antimalarial Agents From Indonesian Medicinal Plants: Swietenia mahagoni and Pluchea indica

Malaria is a neglected tropical disease that still demands serious efforts to tackle successfully, including the need for new antimalarial lead compounds to combat drug-resistant Plasmodium. Intensive phytochemical and pharmacological investigation into the Indonesian medicinal plants Swietenia mahagoni and Pluchea indica successfully revealed 5 constituents. Antimalarial bioassays indicated 34,5-tri- O-caffeoylquinic acid (4) to be the most active against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 and Dd2 strains with IC50 values of 8.2 and 8.8 µM, respectively. No cytotoxicity was observed against Human Embryonic Kidney cells at a concentration of 40 µM.

Molecular Docking Senyawa Ekstrak Etanol Daun Kenikir (Cosmos caudatus) Sebagai Inhibitor Il-6 Dalam Respon Inflamasi

Inflamasi merupakan reaksi alami tubuh untuk melindungi diri dari patogen menyebab penyakit. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) berperan sebagai sitokin pro-inflamasi dan antiinflamasi yang dikeluarkan oleh sel T dan makrofag untuk merangsang respon imun saat terjadi infeksi. Pada penelitian ini, dilakukan studi in silico ekstrak etanol daun kenikir (Cosmos caudatus) sebagai anti-inflamasi yang didasarkan pada afinitas terhadap Interleukin-6 (IL-6) dengan menggunakan metode molecular docking secara in silico. Penelitian ini meliputi simulasi penambatan molekuler kandungan senyawa ekstrak etanol daun kenikir terhadap reseptor IL-6 (PDB ID : 1ALU) dan prediksi profil farmakokinetik dan toksisitas menggunakan server Pre-ADMET. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa diperoleh empat senyawa potensial, yaitu C1 (Kaempferol), C2 (1-Caffeoylquinic acid, C3 (Procyanidin B1), dan C5 (Quercetin-3-O-pentoside).Keempat senyawa tersebut memiliki nilai ?G dan Ki yang lebih baik dibandingkan dengan ligan alami. Nilai ?G; Ki senyawa uji tersebut, yaitu berturut-turut (-5,29 Kkal/mol; 133,31 uM), (-6,02 Kkal/mol; 38,44 uM), (-5,38 Kkal/mol; 114,24 uM), dan (-5,46 Kkal/mol; 99,50 uM). Hasil PreADMET keempat senyawa tersebut memiliki daya adsorpsi yang baik sehingga dapat dipertimbangkan dalam pembuatan sediaan rute oral. Hasil ames test menunjukkan bahwa C1 dan C2 bersifat mutagenik, sedangkan C3 dan C4 non mutagenik.

Interactions of Ascorbic Acid, 5-Caffeoylquinic Acid, and Quercetin-3-Rutinoside in the Presence and Absence of Iron during Thermal Processing and the Influence on Antioxidant Activity

Bioactive compounds in fruit and vegetables influence each other’s antioxidant activity. Pure standards, and mixtures of the common plant compounds, namely ascorbic acid, 5-caffeoylquinic acid, and quercetin-3-rutinoside (sum 0.3 mM), in the presence and absence of iron, were analyzed pre- and post-thermal processing in an aqueous solution. Antioxidant activity was measured by total phenolic content (TPC), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (TEAC) radical-scavenging assays. Ionic ferrous iron (Fe2+) and ferric iron (Fe3+) were measured photometrically. For qualification and quantification of reaction products, HPLC was used. Results showed that thermal processing does not necessarily lead to a decreased antioxidant activity, even if the compound concentrations decreased, as then degradation products themselves have an antioxidant activity. In all used antioxidant assays the 2:1 ratio of ascorbic acid and 5-caffeoylquinic acid in the presence of iron had strong synergistic effects, while the 1:2 ratio had strong antagonistic effects. The pro-oxidant iron positively influenced the antioxidant activity in combination with the used antioxidants, while ferrous iron itself interacted with common in vitro assays for total antioxidant activity. These results indicate that the antioxidant activity of compounds is influenced by factors such as interaction with other molecules, temperature, and the minerals present.

TCQA, A Natural Caffeoylquinic Acid Derivative Attenuates H2O2-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis by Suppressing Phosphorylation of MAPKs Signaling Pathway

Abstract1,3,5-Tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid is a caffeoylquinic acid derivative isolated from the roots of Arctium lappa L. Our previous studies have revealed that the ethyl acetate extract of the roots of A. lappa L. and the caffeoylquinic acids contained in it possess antioxidant properties, especially 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress and explore the underlying mechanism. We found that 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid prevented the decline of cell viability and excessive release of lactate dehydrogenase induced by hydrogen peroxide. In addition, Hoechst 33 342 staining and Annexin V-PI double staining showed that 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid inhibited hydrogen peroxide-induced neuronal cell apoptosis. 1,3,5-Tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid reduced the excessive production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, decreased the malondialdehyde content, and improved the activity of superoxide dismutase. Furthermore, 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid restored the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in SH-SY5Y cells induced by hydrogen peroxide. 1,3,5-Tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid downregulated the overexpression of proapoptotic proteins, including Bax, cytochrome c, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved caspase-3 as well as promoted the expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. Moreover, the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases induced by hydrogen peroxide was inhibited by 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid. Pretreatment with 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid also promoted the activation of phosphorylated Akt. Taken together, these findings suggest that 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid exerts protective effects against hydrogen peroxide-induced neuronal apoptosis. In addition, inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and the activation of Akt are implicated in the antioxidant activity of 1,3,5-tri-O-caffeoyl quinic acid, giving new insight in searching for a compound with antioxidant activity for the treatment of oxidative stress-associated neurological diseases.

Establishment of 3D Spheroid Human Dermal Papilla Cells as an Effective Model for Hair Growth Screening Compounds Compared with the 2D System: An Example of Minoxidil and 3,4,5-Tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (TCQA)

IntroductionDermal papilla cells (DPc) is an important element in studying the hair follicle (HF) niche. The human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPC) are widely used as an in vitro model to study hair growth related research. These cells are usually grown in 2D culture, nevertheless, this system did not show efficient therapeutic effect on HF regeneration and growth, and key differences were observed between cell activity in vitro and in vivo. ObjectiveRecent studies have showed that HFDPC grown in 3D hanging spheroids is more morphologically akin to intact DPc microenvironment. This current study showed that the 3D model is applicable to the commercial cell line with new insights on its variability by comparing to previous studies of gene signature restored by 3D culture.Methods and Results Our data demonstrated that HFDPCS grown in 3D in vitro model can influence not only hair growth-related pathways but also immune system -related pathways compared to 2D cell monolayer. Furthermore, we compared the expression of signalling molecules and metabolism-associated proteins of HFDPC in minoxidil (FDA approved drug for hair loss treatment) and 3,4,5-tri-O-caffeoylquinic acid (TCQA) (recently found to induce hair growth in vitro and in vivo) treated 3D and 2D cell cultures using microarray analysis. Conclusion Further validation of the results confirms the suitability of this cell line for 3D model while providing new insights such as to the mechanisms behind the hair growth effects of 3D spheroid treated with hair growth promoting agents.

Treatment with Argovit® Silver Nanoparticles Induces Differentiated Postharvest Biosynthesis of Compounds with Pharmaceutical Interest in Carrot (Daucus carota L.)

The global market for plant-derived bioactive compounds is growing significantly. The use of plant secondary metabolites has been reported to be used for the prevention of chronic diseases. Silver nanoparticles were used to analyze the content of enhancement phenolic compounds in carrots. Carrot samples were immersed in different concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 mg/L) of each of five types of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for 3 min. Spectrophotometric methods measured the total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity. The individual phenolic compounds were quantified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and identified by –mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). The five types of AgNPs could significantly increase the antioxidant capacity of carrots’ tissue in a dose-dependent manner. An amount of 20 mg/L of type 2 and 5 silver nanoparticle formulations increased the antioxidant capacity 3.3-fold and 4.1-fold, respectively. The phenolic compounds that significantly increased their content after the AgNP treatment were chlorogenic acid, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, and 5′-caffeoylquinic acid. The increment of each compound depended on the dose and the type of the used AgNPs. The exogenous application of Argovit® AgNPs works like controlled abiotic stress and produces high-value secondary bioactive compounds in carrot.