Chemical composition of traditional and modern Arabica coffee cultivars

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of genetic diversity on the chemical composition of traditional and modern cultivars of Brazilian arabica coffee. Traditional (Bourbon, Catuai and Icatu) and modern cultivars (Iapar 59, IPR 98, IPR 99, and IPR 103) were subjected to the same edaphoclimatic conditions, and to standardized post-harvest treatments. Contents of sucrose, reducing sugars, organic acids (quinic, malic, and citric), total phenolic compounds, 5-caffeoylquinic acid, nitrogenous compounds (protein, caffeine, and trigonelline), total lipids, cafestol, and kahweol were determined. Genetic diversity provides variability in coffee composition, allowing the discrimination between traditional and modern cultivars. Modern cultivars have higher contents of malic and 5-caffeoylquinic acids, total lipids, kahweol and trigonelline. The parameters kahweol and the kahweol/cafestol ratio are proposed as discriminators between traditional and modern cultivars, since the introgression of genes from Coffea canephora increase the kahweol content and the values of kahweol/cafestol ratio.