Identification of proline-based diketopiperazines in roasted coffee

Five proline-based diketopiperazines were identified in water extracts of roasted coffee proteins and roasted coffee itself. These are cyclo(pro-ile), cyclo(pro-leu), cyclo(pro-phe), cyclo(pro-pro), and cyclo(pro-val). The isolation included gel chromatography and solvent (CHCl3) extraction; in the case of roasted coffee brews, polyamide column chromatography was also used. The identification was achieved by LC-ESI-MS and -MS/MS by comparison of the retention time and the fragmentation pattern with reference compounds. As a second method GC-EI-MS was used. By both methods the presence of diketopiperazines in roasted coffee was unambiguously verified.