title: Biogenic amine profile in unripe Arabica coffee beans processed according to dry and wet methods.
abstract: Immature coffee fruit processing contributes to a high amount of defective beans, which determines a significant amount of low-quality coffee sold in the Brazilian internal market. Unripe bean processing was tested, taking the levels of bioactive amines as criteria for evaluating the extent of fermentation and establishing the differences between processing methods. The beans were processed by the dry method after being mechanically depulped immediately after harvest or after a 12 h resting period in a dry pile or immersed in water. Seven bioactive amines were quantified: putrescine, spermine, spermidine, serotonin, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine, with global amounts ranging from 71.8 to 80.3 mg/kg. The levels of spermine and spermidine were lower in the unripe depulped coffee than in the natural coffee. The specific conditions of dry and wet processing also influenced cadaverine levels, and histamine was reduced in unripe depulped coffee. A resting period of 12 h does not induce significant alteration on the beans and can be improved if performed in water. These results confirm that peeling immature coffee can decrease fermentation processes while providing more uniform drying, thus reducing the number of defects and potentially increasing beverage quality.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciência dos Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. ecdias5@gmail.com
authors.forename: Eduardo C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Rosemary G F A
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Flávio M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Borém
authors.forename: Eulália
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Renato R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.forename: José O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casal
mesh_terms: D001679:Biogenic Amines / Q000032:analysis*; D040503:Coffea / Q000737:chemistry*; D003890:Desiccation; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D001679:Biogenic Amines; D014867:Water