Coffee Compounds
Coffee Compounds
Do you know that coffee contains a “health code”? Beyond its stimulant effects, compounds such as cafestol and kahweol in coffee exhibit bioactivities like anti-angiogenesis and anti-inflammation, making them valuable targets in scientific research. Let’s explore their remarkable functions.

Figure 1. Chemical Structure of Cafestol
Cafestol (C274912) and kahweol (K274796) are diterpenes naturally present in coffee beans, exhibiting anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activities. They inhibit endothelial cell tube formation, migration, invasion, and proliferation. Kahweol additionally suppresses differentiation of bone marrow macrophages and monocytes into osteoclasts, thereby blocking osteoclast development and improving bone strength and structure.
In colon cancer animal models, administration of cafestol palmitate (C274886) effectively prevents carcinogen PhIP-induced DNA adduct formation, potentially by upregulating phase II detoxifying enzyme glutathione S-transferase expression.
Kahweol acetate (K274797), a coffee-specific diterpene, inhibits cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, possibly through suppression of Akt/JNK1/2/p38 MAPK phosphorylation and NF-κB activation, leading to decreased expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9).
References
1.Chartier A, Beaumesnil M, de Oliveira AL, et al. Talanta. 2013 Dec 15;117:102-11.
2. Cárdenas C, Quesada AR, Medina MÁ. et al. PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23407. 5.
3. Fumimoto R, Sakai E, Yamaguchi Y, et al. J Pharmacol Sci. 2012;118(4):479-86.
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