Enzyme endo-β-mannanase is associated with the poor physiological quality of coffee seeds Coffea arabica L.

By Sttela Dellyzete Veiga Franco da Rosa, Researcher at Embrapa Café, Brasília, DF, Brasil

Article Researchers “Endo-β-mannanase enzyme activity in the structures of Coffea arabica L. seeds under different types of processing and drying”, published in Ciência Rural (vol. 48, no. 12), determined the activity of endo-β-mannanase in the structures of coffee seeds, evaluating their relationship with the quality of seeds submitted to different processes and drying methods. For this, they submitted fruits of Coffea arabica L., in the mature stage, to three types of processing: natural, pulped and demucilated. In the first case, the seeds are dried on the fruits themselves, while in the second the seeds are first demucilated by fermentation in water and, in the third case, the fruits are peeled and the mucilage is mechanically removed before drying. These seeds were submitted to two methods of drying: the slow, in the shade, and the rapid drying in a mechanical dryer at 35ºC until humidity of 11%. After these processes, the researchers quantified the activity of the enzyme and evaluated the physiological aspects of the seeds.

According to the results the seeds submitted to the dry process, natural coffee, have lower physiological performance, with greater deterioration and endo-β-mannanase enzyme activity. The activity of the enzyme and the deterioration of the seeds were reduced when using the wet process, which originates the pulped or demucilated coffee, which shows a relation between these factors. Rapid drying in a dryer can also help to obtain more damaged grains.

For the researcher Sttela Dellyzete Veiga Franco da Rosa, the study brings practical applications to the coffee producer market. The endo-β-mannanase enzyme can be used as a biochemical marker of the quality of coffee beans for the production of beverage and seedlings. “In addition, the results may help explain the behavior of seeds and grains of other species with chemical constitution and regulation of germination similar to coffee,” she says.

Other researchers, as Bytof, et al. (2007), Freitas, et al. (2017) e Taveira, et al. (2015) already investigated the relationship between enzyme activity and seed quality and coffee beans. This, however, is the first research to investigate this relationship in different seed structures of Coffea arabica L.

References

BYTOF, G., et al. Transient occurrence of seed germination processes during coffee post-harvest treatment. Annals of Botany [online]. 2007, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 61-66, ISSN: 0305-7364 [viewed 19 February 2019]. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcm068. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2735289/

FREITAS, M.N., et al. Relevance of endo-β-mannanase enzyme in coffee seed deterioration process. African Journal of Agricultural Research [online]. 2017, vol. 12, no. 15, pp. 1253-1258, ISSN: 1991-637X [viewed 19 February 2019]. DOI: 10.5897/AJAR2016.10949. Available from: https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/article-abstract/B1C8BFD63666

TAVEIRA, J.H.S., et al. Post-harvest effects on beverage quality and physiological performance of coffee beans. African Journal of Agricultural Research [online]. 2015, vol. 10, no. 12, pp. 1457-1466, ISSN: 1991-637X [viewed 19 February 2019]. DOI: 10.5897/AJAR2014.9263. Available from: https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/article-abstract/2E6001E51866

To read the article, access it

FERREIRA, V.F., et al. Endo-β-mannanase enzyme activity in the structures of Coffea arabica L. seeds under different types of processing and drying. Cienc. Rural [online]. 2018, vol. 48, no. 12, e20170839, ISSN: 0103-8478 [viewed 19 February 2019]. DOI: 10.1590/0103-8478cr20170839. Available from: http://ref.scielo.org/zw7dhp