Beware the HIV Env, Which Comes to you in Glycosylated Coating

Abstract

Excess cellular radical oxygen species are associated with an increase in cellular, including geneticdamage. In somatic cells, this may lead to cancer when genes associated with cell growthand reproduction are impacted. Opposing radical oxygen species are antioxidants which canquench free radicals that otherwise may damage a cell’s DNA. The body produces some antioxidantsnaturally, such as glutathione, while others are obtained through diet, including vitaminsC and E. Chlorogenic Acid (CGA) is one example of a polyphenolic compound in coffeewith the potential to exhibit antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. The concentration ofCGA in a commercially available coffee was measured and its potential to exhibit antioxidantproperties was assessed. An extract was prepared in which the spectral properties of CGAwere exploited to quantitate its concentration in green coffee extract via HPLC. The antioxidantactivity of CGA was characterized by measuring its relative ability to neutralize free radicals usinga colorimetric assay vs. a pure vitamin C standard. The antimutagenic activity of CGA wasto be assessed via an Ames test using mutant Salmonella strains incapable of producing theamino acid histidine. The results demonstrated a considerable amount of CGA in green coffeeextract, that exhibited antioxidant properties. Future work will assess antimutagenic effectsof CGA in the extract compared to the antimutagenic effect of vitamin C and pure CGA standards.Overall, these results suggested that coffee beverages may serve as potent antioxidantswith the potential to protect consumers from the harmful effects of mutagenic free radicals.