Identification and antioxidant activity of coffee by-products

Coffee is the second largest world commodity1. During processing, by-products are generated such as coffee pulp, husk and silver skin that are discarded and cause environmental problems. An alternative is to use these by-products in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, reducing environmental impact. Various biological activities such as antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory have been reported in coffee products2. The aim of this study was to identify and determine the antioxidant capacity of various bioactive compounds from different species of coffee by-products. The presence of caffeine, trigonelline and chlorogenic acids were identified by HPLC3 and mass spectrometry4. Total phenolic compounds were determinated by Folin-Ciocalteau5, and antioxidant activity by DPPH method6. Arabica and conilon species presented around 94% inhibition of DPPH and 1348 mg GAE/100g and 2410 mg GAE/100g total phenolic radicals respectively. Thus, it is possible to conclude that by-products have bioactive compounds and good antioxidant activity.