Whole Coffee Fruit Extract Has Most Antioxidants

GLASGOW, ScotlandThe antioxidant activity in whole coffee fruit extracts was up to 25-times higher than in coffee fruit powders dependent upon the radical, according to a recent study (J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Mar 14). Whole coffee fruit extracts also displayed higher chlorogenic acid (CGA) content than single-step extracts, freeze-dried or air-dried whole raw fruits, and less caffeine than single-step extracts and powders. Total antioxidant activity of samples displayed strong correlation to CGA content.

CGA, polyphenols long recognized as powerful antioxidants, are found in a variety of plants but are particularly abundant in the whole coffee fruit.

Scientists from the University of Glasgow; the University of Surrey, England; Brunswick Laboratories Inc., Southborough, MA; and FutureCeuticals Inc., Momence, IL, analyzed the effects of production methods on CGA and caffeine content in four distinct whole coffee fruit materials. The investigated materials included: 1.) a patented and commercially available whole coffee fruit extract prepared by a proprietary, multi-step extraction and purification method; 2.) a patented and commercially available whole coffee fruit extract prepared by a proprietary, single-step extraction and purification method; 3.) a patent-pending air-dried whole coffee fruit powder; and, 4.) a patent-pending freeze-dried whole coffee fruit powder.  All of the abovementioned whole coffee fruit products are marketed under the trademark "CoffeeBerry®" and are exclusively available from FutureCeuticals Inc.

The results of the study show higher CGA levels, higher antioxidant capacity, and lower caffeine levels in the whole coffee fruit extracts than in the air-dried and freeze-dried powders, with the multi-step extract material exhibiting the highest CGA content, antioxidant capacity, and the lowest caffeine content.  CGA contents by weight were 80 percent and 42 percent for the multi- and single-step extracts, respectively, 4.5 percent for the air-dried powder, and 8.8 percent for the freeze-dried powder. Caffeine levels ranged from .44 percent in the multi-step extract to 1.03 percent in the air-dried powder.  

The data also exhibit a strong correlation between CGA content and antioxidant capacity. Antioxidant capacity of the extracts against the peroxyl (ORAC), hydroxyl (HORAC), peroxynitrite (NORAC), and singlet-oxygen (SOAC) radicals ranged from 7 to 25 times the capacity of the powders.

The authors concluded by pointing out that a 1-g dose of the multi-step whole coffee fruit extract, for instance, delivers more than 10 times the chlorogenic acids of a typical cup of brewed coffee.  That same 1-g serving of the whole coffee fruit extract only contains approximately 4.4 mg of caffeine versus the 100 to 150 mg in a single cup of brewed coffee.