Numerous physiologically active chemicals found in coffee have a long-term impact on health. In addition to providing protection from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders, liver illnesses, cancer, and asthma, drinking coffee is linked to decreased all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) death rates. Coffee may also increase fertility. The best effects of coffee are believed to be produced at a daily intake of three to four cups of coffee. Few randomized, controlled trials have been conducted, and the majority of studies on coffee are based on observational data.
What substances in coffee are physiologically active?
Polyphenols
Polyphenols, including chlorogenic acids in green coffee beans and caffeic acid in roasted coffee beans, as well as alkaloids (caffeine and trigonelline) and diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol) are among the bioactive substances in coffee. Many of these substances’ effects overlap.
Chlorogenic Acids
Chlorogenic acids are a class of polyphenols found in green coffee beans. For a concentrated dose of chlorogenic acids, green coffee extract is sold as a supplement. These substances have been demonstrated to lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, improve mood, and eradicate some infectious bacterial species. Both systolic (2.5 mmHg) and diastolic (1.5 mmHg) blood pressure can be reduced by chlorogenic acid.
Nitric Acid
Nitric acid generation or endothelial function are not the cause of this drop in blood pressure. Instead, alpha-glucosidase, an enzyme made by small intestinal cells to digest complex carbohydrates and disaccharides like amylopectin (potato starch) and sucrose, is inhibited by chlorogenic acids. As a result, less glucose is absorbed during digestion. The mood-improving effects of decaffeinated coffee with high chlorogenic acid content were discovered in a small pilot trial of older people. Other research has produced a range of findings.
Chlorogenic Acids
It has also been demonstrated that the chlorogenic acids in coffee have antimicrobial effects. Staphylococcus aureus sortase A is inhibited by chlorogenic acids. Another enzyme, sortase A, connects proteins in the bacterial cell wall. As a result, sortase A inhibition results in the destruction of the bacterial cell wall, which is fatal to bacteria. This phenomena could have both benefits and drawbacks. When sortase A is inhibited, certain healthy gut microbiota, including enterococci, are also susceptible to membrane degradation.
Caffeic Acid
Roast coffee beans contain a significant amount of caffeic acid, which has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-viral properties. It may also lessen the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, lower the risk of diabetes, lessen the weariness that comes with exercise, and help fend off neurodegenerative disease.
The antioxidant and pro-oxidant abilities of caffeine contribute to its anticancer activities. These characteristics result from the chemical structure of the substance, which consists of phenol rings connected to free OH groups.
CAPE’s Effects
When caffeic acid is esterified, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), which has a number of physiological effects including the suppression of DNA methylation, is the product. Cancer, atherosclerosis, imprinting issues, and cardiovascular illnesses are all linked to DNA methylation.
Eliminate Cancerous Cells
CAPE can also eliminate cancerous cells. When CAPE combines with copper to create hydroxyl radicals, it reaches cancer cells where DNA is more likely to be uncoiled. DNA strand breaks are easily caused by hydroxyl radicals’ reaction with DNA. This can result in apoptosis and prevent cancer cell division.
Suppresses Virus
Caffeic acid suppresses the herpes simplex, poliovirus, HIV, and influenza viruses, according to in vitro research. There are several ways that caffeine works to combat viruses. Before the DNA strands are integrated into chromosomal DNA, CAPE can disrupt the DNA strands that viruses try to insert into cells. Viral integrases, which are enzymes that splice viral DNA into our chromosomes, have been demonstrated to be inhibited by CAPE. It is challenging for the virus to successfully commandeer the cell’s DNA replication apparatus if this stage is annulled.
Inhibit The Viral Tax Protection
CAPE directly inhibits the viral Tax protein, which is crucial for the emergence of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). Additionally, CAPE blocks NF-B, diminishing Tax’s efforts. The NF-B pathway’s activation by Tax is crucial for the cellular transformation brought on by HTLV-1.
During preclinical research, caffeic acid was found to protect animal and plant species’ leaves from UV-B and X-ray radiation damage. Uncertainty surrounds the precise process via which this takes place . Early CAPE therapy was successful in preventing X-ray-induced cardiac injury in rats . The bone marrow of mice who had their entire bodies irradiated had been demonstrated to be protected by caffeine acid from hematopoietic stem cell damage.
By lowering hepatic glucose production and enhancing adipocyte glucose absorption, insulin secretion, and antioxidant capacity, caffeic acid has been reported to have great potential as an anti-diabetic drug.
Coffee Helps Lessen The Weariness
In experiments on animals, caffeine has been found to lessen the weariness brought on by exercise. Higher exercise tolerance, lower blood lactate, and lower indicators of liver oxidation have all been seen in treated animals. Additionally, CAPE appears to offer defense against the hyperthermal stress brought on by endurance training.
Coffee Is Effective In neurodegenerative Disorders
According to studies, CAPE may be effective in treating neurodegenerative disorders. The CAPE therapy improved learning and memory, shielded mice from declines in spatial cognition, and reduced beta amyloid-induced neuronal death and neuroinflammation. Another study utilizing fruit flies, mice, and human neuroblastoma cells demonstrated that CAPE can reduce illness symptoms and stimulate physiological processes. In the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of CAPE-treated mice, levels of the neurotrophin BDNF, the neural progenitor marker Nestin, and the differentiation marker NeuN were elevated. These results collectively imply that caffeic acid may decrease the progression of neurodegenerative illnesses including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, among others.
The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) appears to be decreased by caffeine through a variety of methods. It seems to influence LDLR and PCSK9 expression favorably. LDL levels, which are considered to be significant predictors of the risk of developing CVD, are greatly influenced by the expression of these genes.
Coffee increased LDLR expression and decreased circulating PCSK9 levels
Additionally, it was discovered that this common substance increased LDLR expression and decreased circulating PCSK9 levels. Caffeine-induced increases in the levels of Ca+2 in the liver’s endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were the cause of these modifications. The control of PCSK9 is carried out by SREBP2, which is blocked by elevated ER Ca+2 levels. Low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which functions as a docking point where “bad” cholesterol can be removed from circulation, is increased as a result of PCSK9 inhibition.
The most popular psychoactive chemical on the planet is caffeine. By preventing the brain’s adenosine receptors, it encourages wakefulness. Cytochrome P450 enzymes in the liver take it up and process it. In contrast to methylated xanthines and methyluric acids, paraxanthine is the predominant caffeine metabolite identified in plasma.
Health Advantages
Improvements in mood, behavior, and exercise performance are just a few of the known health advantages of caffeine. It also has antibacterial defenses, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities, and slows the advancement of liver and neurological diseases. Caffeine can affect glucose metabolism and calcium balance, as well as cause cardiac arrhythmias and disrupt regular sleep patterns. Additionally recognized are the effects of insulin resistance and its carcinogenicity. According to several research, fertility and early development may have unfavorable impacts.
Anticancer And Antiviral Effects
Like caffeine, trigonelline is an alkaloid. It possesses anticancer and antiviral effects, lowers blood sugar and serum cholesterol levels, and is neuroprotective. Additionally, it seems to lessen platelet aggregation. Trigonelline influences beta cell regeneration, insulin release, reactive oxygen species, axonal extension, and neuron excitability, although the myriad mechanisms underlying its action are unclear.
Natural diterpenes that are derived from coffee beans include cafestol and kahweol. These substances promote the circulation of fat in the bloodstream, reduce inflammatory mediator levels, boost glutathione (GSH), inhibit the growth of tumor blood vessels, cause tumor cells to undergo apoptosis, safeguard the liver, and have anti-diabetic effects. These substances may also be crucial in bone deterioration and remodeling.
Coffee And Weight Gain
Coffee contains a number of bioactive substances, including chlorogenic acid, caffeine, trigonelline, and magnesium, which have been shown to have an anti-obesity effect. Conflicting findings from a meta-analysis of coffee drinkers suggested that men might experience a little weight loss benefit from coffee drinking although the time they spend to play geometry dash is always high.
Coffee Side Effects
Because coffee contains a lot of caffeine, it might cause side effects like anxiety, sleeplessness, headaches, trembling, and palpitations. Coffee consumption during pregnancy raises the risk of preterm labor and low birth weight, and it may also increase the risk of fracture in women.
