Cuantificación de cafeína en cafés comerciales de Panamá

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most consumed drink of the world. There are two main species of coffe in Panama, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora and they are mainly produced in the provinces of Coclé, Chiriquí, Veraguas and Panama. In this study quantification of caffeine, dry matter, ash and pH was carried out to 22 national coffee brands which are sold in Panamanian supermarkets. Caffeine quantification by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was in the range of 0.0 to 1.64 %. This low caffeine content might be explained due to the fact that commercial coffee is a mixture of coffee and other grains, such as corn and beans. Lack of nutritional information of commercial coffee was detected and in some cases its composition was not reported. National coffee quality control improvements will be required in the near future such as compliance of existing legal regulations about food product labeling in order that mixture proportion of coffee to other grains and caffeine content be indicated.