INTERVARIETAL HYBRIDS OF CONILON AND ROBUSTA COFFEES GROWN IN AMAZON REGION: PROFILE OF DITERPENES

Lately, the state of Rondônia has obtained good results associated with the genetical enhancement of Coffea canephora varieties adapted to the region’s edapho-climatic conditions and the use of clonal varieties. Intervarietal hybrids of Conilon and Robusta coffees stand out in field trials due to their greater productivity and to facilitate the crop management, as well as for the good cup quality observed in quality contests. The presence of diterpenes in coffee is studied due to their physiological effects on human health, but the data on Coffea canephora (Conilon and Robusta varieties) are scarce, and there is no information on coffee hybrids. The aim of this research was to study the diterpenes profile of Conilon and Robusta intervarietal hybrids, developed by Embrapa Café, and grown in the Amazon region. Five clones with different agronomic characteristics were studied, from up to eight different growing sites, totaling 38 samples. The natural cherry coffees were medium roasted. Extraction was performed after direct hot saponification, and diterpenes were determined in UPLC with UV detection. The total diterpenes content ranged from 192.2 to 730.6 mg 100 g-1, being higher than that usually reported for Coffea canephora species. It was observed the presence of kahweol in all samples (16.2 to 41.6 mg 100 g-1), and great variability in cafestol contents (95.9 to 456.8 mg 100 g-1, CV of 24.8%). For 16-O-methylcafestol, proposed as a potential discriminator of the coffee species, a wide range was observed (contents from 75.5 to 397.2 mg 100 g-1, CV of 29.3%). The variation in the cafestol/kahweol ratio (5.1 to 24.3) is also worth mentioning since high ratio values can be associated with a higher cup quality. Coffea canephora intervarietal hybrids coffees showed great diversity in the diterpenes profile; variations were dependent on the genetic variability (clones) and the growing site.