Antioxidant activity, polyphenols, caffeine and melanoidins in soluble coffee: The influence of processing conditions and raw material

The production of soluble coffee starts with the selection of beans and is followed by roasting, grinding, extraction and drying. Lyophilised soluble coffees extracted by various methods from light, medium and dark-roasted arabica and robusta beans were evaluated for antioxidant activity (AA) using ABTS, Folin, DPPH and FRAP techniques. Caffeine, chlorogenic acid (5-CQA) and melanoidin content was also quantified. The data were analysed by principal component analysis. The AA values derived from the various methods used were correlated. Roasting resulted in the degradation of 5-CQA and formation of melanoidins, while AA was largely unaffected by roasting. The extraction of soluble coffee more prominently affected the AA of light-roasted coffee, mainly because it favoured the extraction of 5-CQA. The larger caffeine content in robusta coffee resulted in greater AA. All of soluble coffee products studied possessed antioxidant potential, which was conferred by their concentrations of phenolic compounds, caffeine and melanoidins.