Spent coffee grounds: A potential commercial source of phytosterols

Franks Kamgang Nzekoue; Gulzhan Khamitova; Simone Angeloni; Alba Nácher Sempere; Jing Tao; Filippo Maggi; Jianbo Xiao; Gianni Sagratini; Sauro Vittori; Giovanni Caprioli

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126836

Spent coffee grounds: A potential commercial source of phytosterols

Food Chem. 2020 Apr 17:325:126836. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126836. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Sant'Agostino 1, 62032 Camerino, Italy.
² School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Sant'Agostino 1, 62032 Camerino, Italy; International Hub for Coffee Research and Innovation, Belforte del Chienti (MC), Italy.
³ Institut Educació Secundària Pare Vitoria, Avinguda d'Elx, 15, 03801 Alcoi, Alicante, Spain.
⁴ School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Sant'Agostino 1, 62032 Camerino, Italy; Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, 166 Kexue Ave, Zhongyuan, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
⁵ International Research Center for Food Nutrition and Safety, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
⁶ School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Via Sant'Agostino 1, 62032 Camerino, Italy. Electronic address: giovanni.caprioli@unicam.it.

PMID: 32387984
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126836

Abstract

This study sought to determine the content of phytosterols (PS) in spent coffee grounds (SCG) to assess a novel industrial application of this coffee by-product as a commercial source of PS. Four PS were extracted and analyzed from 14 SCG samples from 12 countries. Sonication in acidic conditions followed by saponification resulted determinant for PS extraction. PS were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) after derivatization. In the order of abundance, the PS were β-sitosterol (188.5-688.5 mg kg^-1), campesterol (48.6-214.5 mg kg^-1), stigmasterol (58.9-188.5 mg kg^-1), and cycloartenol (14.6-65.8 mg kg^-1 mg kg¹). Total PS fraction ranged from 343.4 mg kg^-1 to 1146.3 mg kg^-1 of SCG with an average level of 618.2 ± 195.4 mg kg^-1. Considering the millions of tons of SCG produced every year, this by-product could be a sustainable source of PS to fill a growing global demand.

Keywords: HPLC; Phytosterols; Spent coffee grounds (SCG); β-sitosterol.