Abstract
The three coffee diterpenes cafestol, kahweol, and 16-O-methylcafestol are mostly esterified with fatty acids. Little has been published about the diterpenes occurring in the free form. By means of gel permeation chromatography on Bio Beads S-X3, it is now possible to simultaneously analyze and quantify the small amounts of these compounds by RP-HPLC. In this way, free kahweol was first proved to be an ingredient of Robusta coffee. Various Arabica and Robusta coffees – both green and roasted – were investigated. Free diterpenes were found in green coffees in amounts below 200 mg/kg dry matter. In comparison to the respective total diterpene content determined by the same HPLC method after saponification of the coffee oil, the proportion of free diterpenes ranged from 0.7 to 3.5 %. During the roasting process, the three uncombined diterpenes behaved similarly: free 16-O-methylcafestol, cafestol as well as kahweol were degraded with increasing roasting temperature.
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