Diterpenes in green and roasted coffee of Coffea arabica cultivars growing in the same edapho-climatic conditions

Lipids are important components of the flavor and aroma of coffee brews. The diterpenes cafestol and kahweol have received attention in recent years due to their physiological effects on human health. However, only a few studies have been conducted that examined the impact of the genetic variability in Coffea arabica diterpenes. In this work, green beans and roasted coffees of different cultivars of C. arabica, growing in the same edapho-climatic conditions, were characterized by their cafestol and kahweol contents. Mature coffee fruits from the traditional cultivar Catuaي and modern cultivar crosses IPR 100, IPR 102 and IPR 106 of two harvests were studied. The harvesting, postharvesting and processing conditions were standardized. The extraction of diterpenes was carried out by direct saponification with KOH, and the quantification was performed by HPLC. For IPR cultivars, the kahweol content was higher than the cafestol level. An inverse behavior was observed for cultivar Catuaي. The highest concentration of kahweol was observed in cultivar IPR 106; cultivar IPR 102 showed the highest content of cafestol. A relation between the kahweol/cafestol ratio and the genetic background was observed; however, future studies are necessary to confirm if the ratio should be used as a tool to discriminate arabica cultivars.