Silvia Cañas

The coffee pulp, a significant by-product of coffee processing, is often discarded but has potential for recycling and high-value uses. This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of two coffee pulp ingredients, a flour (CPF) and an aqueous extract (CPE), and conducted acute and sub-chronic toxicity assays to determine their safety. The proximate composition revealed the high fiber content of both ingredients; the CPF mainly contained insoluble fiber, while CPE consisted exclusively of soluble pectic polysaccharides. The CPF had higher concentrations of amino acids and a better balance of essential/non-essential amino acids, whereas the CPE exhibited higher concentrations of free amino acids, ensuring higher bioavailability. Both ingredients showed elevated mineral content, while heavy-metal concentrations remained within acceptable limits. This study established the bioactive potential of the CPF and the CPE, demonstrating the high content of caffeine and gallic, protocatechuic, and 4-caffeoylquinic acids. The toxicity studies revealed that the CPF and the CPE exhibited safety when orally administered to mice. Administered doses were non-toxic, as they did not induce lethality or adverse effects in the mice or produce significant histopathological or biochemical adverse changes. This study represents a first step in valorizing the CPF and the CPE as safe novel food ingredients with health benefits for functional and nutritional foods.

Coffee production generates significant amounts of by-products, posing challenges for waste management in the industry. Recent research has revealed that coffee by-products are rich in bioactive compounds suitable to produce functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals. In this review, we explore biorefinery strategies for extracting and utilizing bioactive compounds from coffee by-products, including the production of bio-based chemicals and materials, as well as the extraction of phenolic compounds, antioxidants, and dietary fiber for food applications. We propose a stepwise approach for the development of functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals from coffee by-products, covering the identification of needs, comprehensive characterization, in vitro and in vivo research, unraveling the mechanism of action, food and nutraceutical formulation, sensory analysis, shelf-life stability, scale-up, randomized control trials, and biostatistics and bioinformatic integration. Additionally, we discuss the market potential, regulatory issues, and technological innovation surrounding the commercialization of coffee by-product-based products. Emphasizing the importance of regulatory compliance and sustainability in the coffee industry, this review highlights the potential of coffee by-products to be transformed from waste into valuable functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals, offering a promising avenue for waste reduction and promoting sustainability in the coffee industry.

Coffee production generates significant amounts of by-products, posing challenges for waste management in the industry. Recent research has revealed that coffee by-products are rich in bioactive compounds suitable to produce functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals. In this review, we explore biorefinery strategies for extracting and utilizing bioactive compounds from coffee by-products, including the production of bio-based chemicals and materials, as well as the extraction of phenolic compounds, antioxidants, and dietary fiber for food applications. We propose a stepwise approach for the development of functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals from coffee by-products, covering the identification of needs, comprehensive characterization, in vitro and in vivo research, unraveling the mechanism of action, food and nutraceutical formulation, sensory analysis, shelf-life stability, scale-up, randomized control trials, and biostatistic and bioinformatic integration. Additionally, we discuss the market potential, regulatory issues, and technological innovation surrounding the commercialization of coffee by-product-based products. Emphasizing the importance of regulatory compliance and sustainability in the coffee industry, this review highlights the potential of coffee by-products to be transformed from waste into valuable functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals, offering a promising avenue for waste reduction and promoting sustainability in the coffee industry.

Drug safety and efficacy studies frequently use oral gavage, but repetitive usage may cause problems. Administration through voluntary ingestion represents an opportunity for refinement. We aimed to develop a protocol for voluntary ingestion of gelatin-based supplements in rats, assessing the influence of age, sex, fasting (4 h), and additives (vanilla, VF; sucralose, S), and to test it in lactating dams. Three-week-old and 5-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats were placed individually in an empty cage containing a gelatin cube and trained daily (5 days/week), recording the day the whole cube was consumed (latency). Rats trained prior to gestation were offered a gelatin containing 250 mg/kg cocoa shell extract (CSE) during lactation. Rats that did not eat the cube after 8 training days were considered non-habituated, with a proportion similar in young males (7.1%), young females (11.1%), and adult females (10.3%), but significantly higher in adult males (39.3%). Excluding non-habituated rats, latency was 2–3 days, without differences between young and adult rats (p = 0.657) or between males and females (p = 0.189). VF or VF + S in the gelatin did not modify latency, while fasting significantly reduced it in females (p = 0.007) but not in males (p = 0.501). During lactation, trained females ate the CSE-gelatin within 1–5 min without litter problems. Conclusions: Acceptance of a gelatin-based supplement is negatively influenced by male sex, facilitated by fasting, and not modified by additives. Training is remembered after 2 months and does not interfere with lactation. Gelatin-based voluntary ingestion is suitable to administer drugs that need to pass through the digestive system, ensuring adequate dosage, and is important to detect non-habituated rats prior to the study. The current protocol may be implemented by training the rats in their own cage.

The cocoa industry generates a considerable quantity of cocoa shell, a by-product with high levels of methylxanthines and phenolic compounds. Nevertheless, the digestion process can extensively modify these compounds’ bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and bioactivity as a consequence of their transformation. Hence, this work’s objective was to assess the influence of simulated gastrointestinal digestion on the concentration of phenolic compounds found in the cocoa shell flour (CSF) and the cocoa shell extract (CSE), as well as to investigate their radical scavenging capacity and antioxidant activity in both intestinal epithelial (IEC-6) and hepatic (HepG2) cells. The CSF and the CSE exhibited a high amount of methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine) and phenolic compounds, mainly gallic acid and (+)-catechin, which persisted through the course of the simulated digestion. Gastrointestinal digestion increased the antioxidant capacity of the CSF and the CSE, which also displayed free radical scavenging capacity during the simulated digestion. Neither the CSF nor the CSE exhibited cytotoxicity in intestinal epithelial (IEC-6) or hepatic (HepG2) cells. Moreover, they effectively counteracted oxidative stress triggered by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) while preventing the decline of glutathione, thiol groups, superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities in both cell lines. Our study suggests that the cocoa shell may serve as a functional food ingredient for promoting health, owing to its rich concentration of antioxidant compounds that could support combating the cellular oxidative stress associated with chronic disease development.

Low birth weight (LBW) and accelerated growth during lactation are associated with cardiometabolic disease development. LBW offspring from rats exposed to undernutrition during gestation (MUN) develops hypertension. In this rat model, we tested if slower postnatal growth improves early cardiometabolic alterations. MUN dams were fed ad libitum during gestation days 1–10, with 50% of the daily intake during days 11–21 and ad libitum during lactation. Control dams were always fed ad libitum. Pups were maintained with their own mother or cross-fostered. Body weight and length were recorded weekly, and breastmilk was obtained. At weaning, the heart was evaluated by echocardiography, and aorta structure and adipocytes in white perivascular fat were studied by confocal microscopy (size, % beige-adipocytes by Mitotracker staining). Breastmilk protein and fat content were not significantly different between groups. Compared to controls, MUN males significantly accelerated body weight gain during the exclusive lactation period (days 1–14) while females accelerated during the last week; length growth was slower in MUN rats from both sexes. By weaning, MUN males, but not females, showed reduced diastolic function and hypertrophy in the heart, aorta, and adipocytes; the percentage of beige-type adipocytes was smaller in MUN males and females. Fostering MUN offspring on control dams significantly reduced weight gain rate, cardiovascular, and fat hypertrophy, increasing beige-adipocyte proportion. Control offspring nursed by MUN mothers reduced body growth gain, without cardiovascular modifications. In conclusion, slower growth during lactation can rescue early cardiovascular alterations induced by fetal undernutrition. Exclusive lactation was a key period, despite no modifications in breastmilk macronutrients, suggesting the role of bioactive components. Our data support that lactation is a key period to counteract cardiometabolic disease programming in LBW and a potential intervention window for the mother.

Numerous residues, such as the coffee pulp, are generated throughout coffee processing. This by-product is a source of antioxidant phytochemicals, including phenolic compounds and caffeine. However, the antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds from the coffee pulp are physiologically limited to their bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and biotransformation occurring during gastrointestinal digestion. Hence, this study explored the phenolic and caffeine profile in the coffee pulp flour (CPF) and extract (CPE), their intestinal bioaccessibility through in vitro digestion, and their potential bioavailability and colonic metabolism using in silico models. The CPE exhibited a higher concentration of phenolic compounds than the CPF, mainly phenolic acids (protocatechuic, chlorogenic, and gallic acids), followed by flavonoids, particularly quercetin derivatives. Caffeine was found in higher concentrations than phenolic compounds. The antioxidant capacity was increased throughout the digestive process. The coffee pulp matrix influenced phytochemicals’ behavior during gastrointestinal digestion. Whereas individual phenolic compounds generally decreased during digestion, caffeine remained stable. Then, phenolic acids and caffeine were highly bioaccessible, while flavonoids were mainly degraded. As a result, caffeine and protocatechuic acid were the main compounds absorbed in the intestine after digestion. Non-absorbed phenolic compounds might undergo colonic biotransformation yielding small and potentially more adsorbable phenolic metabolites. These results contribute to establishing the coffee pulp as an antioxidant food ingredient since it contains bioaccessible and potentially bioavailable phytochemicals with potential health-promoting properties.

Breast milk (BM) is the best food for newborns. Male sex is associated with a higher risk of fetal programming, prematurity, and adverse postnatal outcome, being that BM is an important health determinant. BM composition is dynamic and modified by several factors, including lactation period, prematurity, maternal nutritional status, and others. This study was designed to evaluate the influence of sex on BM composition during the first month of lactation, focused on macronutrients and antioxidants. Forty-eight breastfeeding women and their fifty-five newborns were recruited at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos (Madrid, Spain). Clinical sociodemographic data and anthropometric parameters were collected. BM samples were obtained at days 7, 14, and 28 of lactation to assess fat (Mojonnier method), protein (Bradford method), and biomarkers of oxidative status: total antioxidant capacity (ABTS and FRAP methods), thiol groups, reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation (spectrophotometric methods). Linear mixed models with random effects adjusted by maternal anthropometry, neonatal Z-scores at birth, and gestational age were used to assess the main effects of sex, lactation period, and their interaction. BM from mothers with male neonates exhibited significantly higher protein, ABTS, FRAP, and GSH levels, while catalase showed the opposite trend. No differences between sexes were observed in SOD, total thiols, and oxidative damage biomarkers. Most changes were observed on day 7 of lactation. Adjusted models demonstrated a significant association between male sex and proteins (β = 2.70 ± 1.20; p-Value = 0.048). In addition, total antioxidant capacity by ABTS (β = 0.11 ± 0.06) and GSH (β = 1.82 ± 0.94) showed a positive trend near significance (p-Value = 0.056; p-Value = 0.064, respectively). In conclusion, transitional milk showed sex differences in composition with higher protein and GSH levels in males. This may represent an advantage in the immediate perinatal period, which may help to counteract the worse adaptation of males to adverse intrauterine environments and prematurity.