RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Researchers from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) found that organic coffee husk is efficient as a raw material for extracts rich in bioactive compounds with high antioxidant potential.
The antioxidant potential is essential to protect the body’s healthy cells against the oxidizing action of free radicals, molecules released by the body’s metabolism with highly unstable and reactive electrons that can cause degenerative diseases of aging and cell death.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION
In addition to providing scientific support for the development of extracts rich in natural antioxidants from organic coffee husk, the UFPB research also shows that the use of the by-product minimizes the amount of agro-industrial residues generated by the coffee industry.
These by-products are virtually cost-free, as they are either discarded or underused.
Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter. The production of roasted coffee beans covers an area of 1.82 million hectares in the country, according to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA).
THE RESEARCH
The work was conducted in two stages. In the first, an analysis of the extraction of compounds by means of a conventional method, solid-liquid extraction at a temperature of 60ºC in a bain-marie, and a non-conventional method was performed, assisted by ultrasound. Three solvent systems (water, ethanol, and water with ethanol) were tested, with organic coffee husk in natura and dehydrated.
In the second stage of the scientific research, the assessment of the antioxidant activity and the identification and quantification of bioactive compounds of organic coffee husk extracts were performed.
Both the conventional and the non-conventional processes presented efficient results for the recovery of bioactive compounds and, consequently, to obtain extracts with high antioxidant potential. However, the conventional extraction was more efficient.
The research experiments, developed by Mariana Silva, a master’s degree student of the Postgraduate Program in Food Science and Technology at UFPB, were conducted at the Technology Center (TC), on campus I, in João Pessoa, under the co-supervision of Marta Madruga, also a professor at the Department of Food Engineering at UFPB, between 2019 and 2021.