Coffee not only contains caffeine, but also a substance that is more precious than caffeine, that is, chlorogenic acid.
Have you ever heard of "chlorogenic acid" in coffee? Many people may be a little unfamiliar with it, but it is actually a substance that is present in large quantities in coffee.
At the same time, chlorogenic acid has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years due to its health effects.
01
What is Chlorogenic Acid?
Chlorogenic acid (CGA), also known as acylquinic acid, also known as coffee tannin, is a phenolic acid. It is widely found in plant foods, especially in coffee, vegetables and fruits.
Chlorogenic acid (CGA) was discovered in 1932 and is representative of a large class of esterifying compounds found in green and roasted coffee. During the roasting process, CGA slowly breaks down, forming caffeic acid and quinic acid.
The chlorogenic acid content decreases as the degree of roasting increases. Chlorogenic acid (CGA) content: When brewing coffee with 10 grams of beans, green beans are 310±8.2 mg, medium roast is 282±11.2 mg, and dark roast is 5.9±0.23 mg
Green coffee is rich in chlorogenic acid
Chemical formula of chlorogenic acid (CGA).
Chlorogenic acid remains by far one of the most abundant acids found in coffee, with 5.5 - 8% in Arabica and up to 7 - 10% in Robusta.
The formation of CGA in plants is triggered by a variety of factors, including changes in environmental conditions, plant stresses, and pest infestations.
CGA, along with caffeine, plays an important role in helping coffee fight insects and pests. As a result, Robusta coffee plants will be more resistant to pests and diseases than Arabica.
Chlorogenic acid is one of the causes of the bitterness in coffee, and it also has a lot to do with our physical health.
02
Chlorogenic acid is a polyphenol
The chlorogenic acid contained in coffee is a polyphenol that is commonly found in tea and other foods. Coffee is rich in polyphenols, and it is said that the content per cup is higher than that of green tea and black tea. Chlorogenic acid is also the source of coffee's unique bitterness, color, and flavor. As you can see, chlorogenic acid is a very important substance for coffee.
Chlorogenic acid, the polyphenol substance in coffee, has attracted the attention of many researchers because of its "antioxidant effect".
03
What are the benefits of chlorogenic acid in coffee for the human body?
Anti-aging research on polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid:
Researchers from Tokyo, Japan, analyzed facial skin information such as skin moisture, transepidermal water loss, elasticity, pigmentation, and wrinkles in 131 healthy Japanese women, and found that:
Coffee intake can effectively protect human skin from photoaging and reduce pigmentation.
Researchers speculate that the reason for the beauty of coffee lies in the polyphenols such as chlorogenic acid contained in it.
Chlorogenic acid plays an adjunct role in dieting and weight management, helping to inhibit fat accumulation.
In a human experiment conducted by the International Journal of Medicine, subjects who consumed coffee with high chlorogenic acid content lost an average of 5.4 kg after 12 weeks, while those who drank coffee with less chlorogenic acid lost an average of only 1.7 kg. In terms of body fat, the group with more chlorogenic acid in coffee had an average reduction of 3.6%, while the group with lower chlorogenic acid intake had an average decrease of 0.7%.
In 2010, a study published at the International Conference on Coffee Science pointed out that chlorogenic acid can interfere with lipase enzyme activity, inhibit the decomposition and absorption of fat, and also mean that subcutaneous fat or visceral fat is not easy to accumulate in the body.
As a free radical scavenger and antioxidant, chlorogenic acid has been proved by a large number of tests, and the biological activity of chlorogenic acid can have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system, and has a significant antihypertensive effect, and the effect is stable, non-toxic, no side effects.
Dr. Joe Vinson of the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania published in 2013 that chlorogenic acid has the ability to inhibit glucose absorption, which will be a major advance in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Chlorogenic acid, as an active ingredient in coffee, prevents diabetes and improves blood sugar control in prediabetics and diabetics.
无独有偶，《医学国际期刊（Journal of International Medical Research）》也发现富含绿原酸的咖啡能诱导葡萄糖吸收降低6.9％。
Resources:
Fukushima, Yoichi, et al. "Skin photoprotection and consumption of coffee and polyphenols in healthy middle‐aged J apanese females." International Journal of Dermatology 54.4 (2015): 410-418.