Simultaneous Determination of Functional Components in Coffee

Importance of the Topic

Coffee contains diverse functional components such as trigonelline, pyrocatechol and chlorogenic acid that have been associated with health benefits from neuroprotection to metabolic regulation, making accurate and efficient analysis crucial for research and quality control of coffee products.

Objectives and Study Overview

This study aims to develop a simultaneous high performance liquid chromatography method for key functional constituents in coffee using a pentafluorophenylpropyl stationary phase to overcome poor retention of basic analytes on conventional C18 columns.

Methodology and Used Instrumentation

• Instrument: Shimadzu Nexera lite HPLC system
• Columns compared: Shim-pack Scepter C18 and Shim-pack Scepter PFPP (150 × 4.6 mm, 3 µm)
• Mobile phase: 20 mmol/L phosphate buffer pH 2.6 (A) and acetonitrile (B) with gradient elution from 0 to 70 % B over 13 minutes
• Flow rate: 1.0 mL/min; column temperature: 25 °C; injection volume: 5 µL; detector: PDA at 270 nm and 325 nm

Sample preparation involved hot water extraction of ground coffee followed by membrane filtration and tenfold dilution prior to HPLC injection.

Main Results and Discussion

The PFPP column achieved adequate retention and separation of all target analytes including basic trigonelline, which showed negligible retention on C18. Repeatability (n=6) delivered retention time RSDs below 0.08 % and peak area RSDs below 0.65 %. Calibration curves were linear over defined concentration ranges (r² ≥ 0.99999). Analysis of a commercial coffee extract quantified trigonelline (21.5 mg/L), chlorogenic acid (21.3 mg/L), pyrocatechol (1.0 mg/L), and caffeine (79.2 mg/L) with high precision. UV spectral comparisons confirmed compound identity.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• The PFPP phase enables simultaneous analysis of acidic, neutral, and basic polar compounds in a single run, simplifying workflow.
• High repeatability and linearity support robust quantification for food science research, quality control and functional component screening.

Future Trends and Potential Applications

Adoption of alternative stationary phases such as PFPP in combination with advanced detection techniques (e.g., mass spectrometry) and automated sample handling can further enhance throughput and selectivity. Extending this approach to other food and botanical matrices offers valuable prospects for comprehensive bioactive profiling.

Conclusion

A reliable HPLC method using a PFPP column was established for simultaneous determination of key functional coffee components, effectively retaining basic analytes that elute poorly on C18. The method delivers high accuracy, precision and versatility for both research and industrial analytical demands.

References

• van Dam RM, Feskens EJ. Lancet 360:1477-1478 (2002)
• Poole R et al. BMJ 359:j5024 (2017)
• Fukuyama K et al. Mol Nutr Food Res 62:e1800238 (2018)
• Farid MM et al. Sci Rep 10:16424 (2020)