Coffea arabica: Production, Classification, New Constituents and Active Principles andSome of Their Pharmacological Effects

Overview

The present paper surveys the latest knowledge about coffee grains (Coffea arabica) as an importantpart of our everyday life. It lists the botanical classification of its principal species, such as Coffeaarabica, Coffea robusta , and Coffea liberica, the most important improved cultivars of productionspecies in the world. The review paper also discusses the economic aspect, lists the most importantregions of production, the optimal and farming technological conditions. It points o ut the occurrenceof the individual constituents which have been hitherto isolated, characterized, and chemicallydefined with some of their physiological effects on the human organism, e.g., the substances of thediterpene type such as kafestol and kahweol and their structure.

Key words:
Coffea arabica – C. robusta – C. liberica – kafestol – kahweol – caffein –