Coffee FAQ: Coffee Alcohol has anti-cancer effect?
Coffee Caffeol is a substance that can be found in coffee beans. The content of coffee alcohol in coffee varies greatly depending on the processing and brewing methods. Humans are still studying this chemical, but it is known that it has many properties that have attracted the attention of scientists and doctors. Arabica and Robusta coffee beans are two typical representatives of coffee alcohol.
This substance is a diterpene molecular structure, meaning it belongs to terpene hydrocarbons. Terpenes tend to have a strong smell, taste and essential oils, and the remaining caffe alcohol is one of the substances that makes coffee slightly oily and bitter. This concentrated polymer in Arabica is about 0.6% of the total weight. Robusta coffee, which has a higher caffeine content than Arabica coffee, also contains caffeine.
Robusta beans contain less coffee alcohol than Arabica. In addition, they do not contain coffee bean alcohol, which is another diterpene compound that can be found in Arabica. The specific role of coffee bean alcohol in the human body is not yet clear, because it is difficult to study this compound in isolation.
Health effects of Coffee alcohol
Extensive research has confirmed that coffee alcohol not only raises cholesterol levels, but also enzyme levels, so it has potential harm to the health of coffee consumers. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the amount of coffee alcohol in brewed coffee. Coffee will have more caffeine when it is brewed. Both the French filter press and traditional Turkish coffee can remove more coffee alcohol than filtered coffee, so the actual amount of this compound is negligible.
Women are more sensitive to the health effects of coffee alcohol than men. For example, the amount of residual coffee alcohol in filtered coffee may only affect women. Therefore, women drinking coffee need to consider choosing only filtered coffee, which can reduce the consumption of coffee alcohol as much as possible. If only caffeine is involved, replacing or transforming tea with lighter but stronger Robusta beans can reduce the chance of being affected by harmful compounds in coffee.
Coffee compounds are extremely complex. In addition to coffee alcohol, there are many other substances that can affect its taste, aroma and potential health risks. Like any complex food, the compounds in coffee have not been fully identified and thoroughly studied. Further research will reveal the benefits of more coffee to offset the potential adverse health factors associated with caffeine.
Related research of Coffee Alcohol
Coffee alcohol is more effective than coffee bean alcohol in raising serum cholesterol. The mixture of coffee alcohol (60 mg / day) and coffee bean alcohol (51 mg / day) is only higher than pure coffee alcohol (64 mg / day) in raising serum cholesterol. ) Slightly higher. Because of the difficulty in purification of coffee bean alcohol and the poor stability of this diterpene, the effect of pure coffee bean alcohol on raising serum cholesterol is unknown.
Both substances can be extracted with hot water but will remain on the filter paper. This explains why brewed coffee in the Nordic region, Turkish coffee and French compressed coffee contain relatively high caffe alcohol and coffee bean alcohol (6-12 mg / cup), while filtered coffee and instant coffee contain a small amount of coffee alcohol and coffee Soy alcohol (0.2-0.6 mg / cup). Although diterpene is relatively high in steam-pressed espresso, it is only a secondary source of coffee alcohol and coffee bean alcohol (4 mg / cup) due to the low serving size.
Both coffee alcohol and coffee bean alcohol have an effect on a series of enzymes in the liver. However, its mechanism and effect on human health are not clear. Coffee drinks have the effect of reducing the risk of liver cancer and colon cancer. The chemopreventive effect may be caused by the diterpene components coffee beans alcohol and coffee alcohol (K-C) contained in the unfiltered coffee drinks. Animal experiments have shown that K-C may inhibit the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of several carcinogens through beneficial regulation of xenobiotic metabolites, especially by stimulating carcinogens to transfer phase II metabolites. The potential effects of K-C on carcinogen-activated hepatocyte color P450 enzyme (CYP450) and sulfur transferase (SULT) were studied. In mouse experiments, these two diterpenes are also considered to have anticancer effects. Epidemiological studies have found that coffee drinking can inhibit certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer. Animal data supports the preventive effect of coffee. Both the broad biochemical effects of caffeol and coffee bean alcohol can reduce the effects of some carcinogens, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (a class of chemicals produced by burning organic materials), aflatoxin B1 (a mycotoxin) And other substances. Different mechanisms of action are associated with different protective effects, but these mechanisms have not yet been elucidated.