Amanda Barbosa Wanderley, Elia
Abstract
Coffee is one of the oldest raw materials known worldwide for containing various bioactive substances. Due to its high consumption and health effects, coffee has aroused the interest of researchers regarding to its chemical compounds and possible benefits available to human health. The present review is based on information collected at National Center for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in USA, theses, dissertations and scientific papers published in electronic libraries such as Scielo, Science Direct, Scopus and Nature. Descriptors used are coffee, antioxidant, caffeine, chlorogenic acid, chemical compounds, roasted beans and climate. An antioxidant activity present in its beans reported in the literature is confirmed by analytical methods being this activity responsible for coffee health benefits. It is claimed, for example, that cofestol controls or inhibits diabetes and obsesity, deseases that are increasing worldwide at preocupant rates. Studies published on climate change, however, have to be updated since possible climate changes may affect the concentration of its bioactive compounds directly.