Antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of two cultivars of Coffea arabica L. under different post-harvest conditions

Coffee is the second most consumed beverage worldwide, with Brazil being the largest producer and exporter. Espírito Santo is the second-largest coffee-producing state, with a significant portion of its economy dedicated to this activity. Coffea arabica L. has the highest commercial value and is the most exported species. Beyond its economic importance, coffee is recognized for its pharmacological properties attributed to bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anticancer activities. This study evaluated the ethanolic extracts of two C. arabica cultivars, ‘Catuaí Vermelho IAC 99’ and ‘Catucaí Amarelo 2SL,’ following different post-harvest processing methods. Antioxidant activity was assessed using ABTS and DPPH assays, while antiproliferative activity was evaluated by MTT assay in human lymphocytes and tumor cells (Sarcoma-180). The results showed that extracts from dried and milled beans exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, suggesting that these methods are the most effective in preserving bioactive compounds. Conversely, roasting negatively impacts coffee’s medicinal potential by reducing bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity [ 1 ] [ 2 ]. The MTT assay in human lymphocytes revealed a mitogenic effect, whereas all extracts induced cell death in tumor cells, with this effect being more pronounced post-roasting. These findings suggest that post-harvest processing, particularly roasting, alters the composition of bioactive compounds, such as chlorogenic acid and trigonelline, as previously observed in other experiments by our research group, impacting the antioxidant and antiproliferative properties of C. arabica . Funding: FAPES – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo/Brazil. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany