Effect of altitude on biochemical composition and quality of green arabica coffee beans can be affected by shade and postharvest processing method.

Although various studies have assessed altitude, shade and postharvest processing effects on biochemical content and quality of coffee beans, data on their interactions are scarce. The individual and interactive effects of these factors on the caffeine, chlorogenic acids (CGA) and sucrose contents as well as physical and sensory qualities of green coffee beans from large plantations in southwestern Ethiopia were evaluated. Caffeine and CGA contents decreased with increasing altitude; they respectively declined 0.12 and 1.23gkg-1 100m-1. Sucrose content increased with altitude; however, the altitude effect was significant for wet-processed beans (3.02gkg-1 100m-1), but not for dry-processed beans (0.36g kg-1 100m-1). Similarly, sucrose content increased with altitude with much stronger effect for coffee grown without shade (2.11gkg-1 100m-1) compared to coffee grown under shade (0.93gkg-1 100m-1). Acidity increased with altitude when coffee was grown under shade (0.22 points 100m-1), but no significant altitude effect was observed on coffee grown without shade. Beans grown without shade showed a higher physical quality score for dry (37.2) than for wet processing (29.1). These results generally underline the complex interaction effects between altitude and shade or postharvest processing on biochemical composition and quality of green arabica coffee beans.

Inactivation of A. ochraceus spores and detoxification of ochratoxin A in coffee beans by gamma irradiation.

UNLABELLED: Ochratoxin A (OTA) produced in food by Aspergillus ochraceus is known to cause adverse health effects. Among the plantation products, green coffee beans are prone to fungal attack and get contaminated with OTA frequently. A fungal strain isolated from green coffee beans was characterized by morphological analyses as well as internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 5.8S rDNA sequencing, turned out to be A. ochraceus, however, nontoxigenic. Hence, additional strains of A. ochraceus were procured and characterized for toxin production. Presterilized green coffee beans were spiked with a toxigenic strain and treated with gamma radiation. Minimum inhibitory dose (MID) of gamma radiation for 10(4) and 10(8) spores of A. ochraceus strain per 10 g of green coffee beans was found to be approximately 1 and approximately 2.5 kGy, respectively. The radiation treatment (10 kGy) almost degraded the preformed or in vitro added OTA (50 ppb) in coffee beans. OTA degradation was found to be enhanced with increase in moisture content. Cytotoxicity in terms of cell viability was found to be reduced significantly for radiation treated OTA in MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay as well as flow cytometric analysis when studied using human intestinal epithelial (Int-407) cells. Similar finding was also observed with E. coli MG1655 cells. Thus the inclusion of gamma radiation treatment in the postharvest processing chain of green coffee beans could help in eliminating toxigenic fungi as well as destroying preformed OTA without affecting the sensory attributes. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In general, mycotoxins including ochratoxin A (OTA) are highly stable to detoxifying agents. Green coffee beans are prone to fungal attack and could get frequently contaminated with the OTA due to improper drying or rehydration during storage. Gamma radiation processing of green coffee beans was found to eliminate the A. ochraceus spores as well as inactivate OTA without affecting its sensory attributes. Thus inclusion of gamma radiation in the postharvest processing chain of green coffee beans would be very useful for consumer safety and coffee trade.

Photosynthesis and photoprotection in coffee leaves is affected by nitrogen and light availabilities in winter conditions.

Coffee is native to shady environments but often grows better and produces higher yields without shade, though at the expense of high fertilization inputs, particularly nitrogen (N). Potted plants were grown under full sunlight and shade (50%) conditions and were fertilized with nutrient solutions containing either 0 or 23 mM N. Measurements were made in southeastern Brazil during winter conditions, when relatively low night temperatures and high diurnal insolation are common. Overall, the net carbon assimilation rate was quite low, which was associated with diffusive, rather than biochemical, constraints. N deficiency led to decreases in the concentrations of chlorophylls (Chl) and total carotenoids as well as in the Chl/N ratio. These conditions also led to qualitative changes in the carotenoid composition, e.g., increased antheraxanthin (A) and zeaxanthin (Z) pools on a Chl basis, particularly at high light, which was linked to increased thermal dissipation of absorbed light. The variable-to-maximum fluorescence ratio at predawn decreased with increasing A+Z pools and decreased linearly with decreasing N. We showed that this ratio was inadequate for assessing photoinhibition under N limitation. Expressed per unit mass, the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase were not altered with the treatments. In contrast, ascorbate peroxidase activity was lower in low N plants, particularly under shade, whereas catalase activity was lower in shaded plants than in sun-grown plants, regardless of the N level. Glutamine synthetase activity was greater in sun-grown plants than in shaded individuals at a given N level and decreased with decreasing N application. Our results suggest that the photoprotective and antioxidant capacity per amount of photons absorbed was up-regulated by a low N supply; nevertheless, this capacity, regardless of the light conditions, was not enough to prevent oxidative damage, as judged from the increases in the H(2)O(2) and malondialdehyde concentrations and electrolyte leakage. We demonstrated that N fertilization could adequately protect the coffee plants against photodamage independently of the anticipated positive effects of N on the photosynthetic capacity.

Functionalization of a cotton fabric surface with titania nanosols: applications for self-cleaning and UV-protection properties.

In this study, cotton fabric was successfully modified by titania nanosols prepared by means of the sol-gel process with tetrabutyl orthotitanate [Ti(OC(4)H(9))(4)] as the active ingredient. The cotton fabric was padded with the nanosol solution, dried at 60 degrees C, and cured at 150 degrees C. Scanning electron microscopy showed the presence of a titania film on the fiber surface. The photocatalytic properties of titania-nanosol-treated cotton fabric were investigated. The results showed that stains of coffee and red wine were successfully decomposed by exposure of the stained fabric to UV radiation. Furthermore, titania-nanosol treatment imparted to the cotton fabric a very good protection against UV radiation. The durability of the treatment was investigated by performing repeated home laundering, and the results showed no effect of laundering on the UV-protection efficiency.

Quality assessment of coffee beans with ESR and gamma-ray irradiation.

Peroxy radical formation in raw coffee beans of different qualities and origins from all over the world has been studied with electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis. The gamma-ray equivalent absorbed dose (ED) which creates the same concentration of radicals is obtained by the additive gamma-ray irradiation of the coffee beans. The ED and the cup quality is somewhat inversely related suggesting that the peroxidation of the unsaturated fatty acid is somewhat indicative of the degree of the aromatic decomposition and rancidity.