INFORMATION:
The Ministry of Economics and Finance has recently allocated a new research project to the team under the 'State R&D programme', in order to enable them to conduct further studies in the area and re-assess the potential value of coffee by-products.
Antioxidant effects of coffee by-products 500 times greater than vitamin C
Coffee silverskin (the epidermis of the coffee bean) is usually removed during processing, after the beans have been dried, while the coffee grounds are normally directly discarded.
2015-05-07
(Press-News.org) It has traditionally been assumed that these by-products - coffee grounds and coffee silverskin, have few practical uses and applications. Spent coffee grounds are sometimes employed as homemade skin exfoliants or as abrasive cleaning products. They are also known to make great composting agents for fertilizing certain plants. But apart from these limited applications, coffee by-products are by and large deemed to be virtually useless. As such, practically all of this highly contaminating 'coffee waste' ends up in landfills across the globe and has a considerable knock-on effect on the environment.
However, a UGR research team led by José Ángel Rufíán Henares set out to determine the extent to which these by-products could be recycled for nutritional purposes, thereby reducing the amount of waste being generated, as well as benefitting coffee producers, recycling companies, the health sector, and consumers.
In an article published in the academic journal Food Science and Technology, the researchers demonstrate the powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the coffee grounds and silverskin, which are highly rich in fibre and phenols. Indeed, their findings indicate that the antioxidant effects of these coffee grounds are 500 times greater than those found in vitamin C and could be employed to create functional foods with significant health benefits.
Moreover, Professor Rufián Henares points out: "They also contain high levels of melanoidins, which are produced during the roasting process and give coffee its brown colour. The biological properties of these melanoidins could be harnessed for a range of practical applications, such as preventing harmful pathogens from growing in food products." However, he also adds: "If we are to harness the beneficial prebiotic effects of the coffee by-products, first of all we need to remove the melanoidins, since they interfere with such beneficial prebiotic properties."
The researchers conclude that processed coffee by-products could potentially be recycled as sources of new food ingredients. This would also greatly diminish the environmental impact of discarded coffee by-products.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Surprise from the deep ocean
2015-05-07
This news release is available in German.
How did the first complex eukaryotic cells with their organelles develop from simple prokaryotes, i.e. bacteria or archaea? This is a highly debated topic in evolutionary research but the question remains largely unresolved. Genomic research has shown that the organelles delivering energy in eukaryotic cells stem from an early bacterial symbiont. Since Archaea have also played an important role in the evolution of eukaryotes, current models suggested, that a primordial Archaeon might have engulfed a bacterium and in this ...
The hairy past
2015-05-07
A common method for learning more about an animal's ecology and behaviour is to analyse the chemical composition of its hair. This involves the analysis of isotopes, which are variants of a chemical element with different atomic weights. The ratio of different isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen in a sample can provide important insights on water intake, nutrition and habitat.
Martina Burnik Šturm and Petra Kaczensky from the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna investigate the ecology of free-ranging ...
Popular media influences choice of childbirth
2015-05-07
Women's magazines influence whether women decide to have a more natural childbirth or not, with most of the messages biased towards promoting the benefits of medicalised birth.
Researchers from Monash University and Queensland University of Technology have studied how popular media influences women's choices for childbirth
The study, published in Women & Health, specifically aimed to assess the effect of communicating the benefits of more natural birth (e.g. no medical intervention such as epidurals or caesarean section).
Kate Young, lead researcher from Monash's ...
Employers and workers can join forces to keep diabetes under control
2015-05-07
People with diabetes who enroll in a health plan tailored to their medical condition are more likely to stick to their medication and actively take charge of their own health care. These are among the findings¹ of a study into the effectiveness of the Diabetes Health Plan, the first disease-specific health plan in the United States for patients with diabetes and pre-diabetes.
The health plan also helps reduce medication costs and ultimately may provide value for money to employers who provide this option to their employees, writes lead author O. Kenrik Duru of the ...
I'll have what she's having
2015-05-07
Selling used to be so simple: pack up the wagon, harness the horse, and head to the nearest settlement. Today, retailers have to allocate their marketing dollars across a multitude of channels, from stores, catalogs, and traditional media to websites and apps. Recent research about consumer adoption of new sales channels indicates that marketing campaigns focused on social media and socioeconomic groupings are likely to give the greatest boost to disruptive new channels - but help propel new brick-and-mortar venues as well.
In "Social Contagion and Customer Adoption ...
Scandinavian trade 'triggered' the Viking Age
2015-05-07
Archaeologists from the University of York have played a key role in Anglo-Danish research which has suggested the dawn of the Viking Age may have been much earlier - and less violent - than previously believed.
The study by Dr Steve Ashby, of the Department of Archaeology at York, working with colleagues from York and Aarhus University, identified the first signs of the Viking Age around 70 years before the first raid on England.
Previously, the start of the Viking Age has been dated to a June 793 raid by Norwegian Vikings on Lindisfarne. But the new research published ...
Psychologists to help Dr. Google
2015-05-07
Psychologists are to improve online health information on lung cancer after research showed that family members are more likely to search online to encourage loved ones to seek help.
This is one of the outcomes from research by PhD student Julia Mueller based in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at The University of Manchester (part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre) who will present her study today, Thursday 7 May 2015, at the Annual Conference of the British Psychology Society being held in Liverpool.
Julia Mueller said: "People displaying ...
Researchers sound out scaffolds for eardrum replacement
2015-05-07
An international team of researchers has created tiny, complex scaffolds that mimic the intricate network of collagen fibres that form the human eardrum.
It is hoped the scaffolds can be used to replace eardrums when they become severely damaged, reducing the need for patients to have their own tissue used in reconstruction surgery.
The scaffolds have been presented today, 7 May, in IOP Publishing's journal Biofabrication.
The eardrum, otherwise known as the tympanic membrane (TM), is a thin, flexible and tough membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ...
Photoactive dye could prevent infection during bone-repair surgery
2015-05-07
(PHILADELPHIA) - Despite extensive procedures to sterilize small and large bone fragments used in joint replacement or reconstructive surgeries, the rate of infection remains around 5 percent and can reach 11 percent or even higher in bone repairs for gunshot wounds or reconstruction after tumor removal. Infection after surgery is a serious complication that can require further surgery and can be life threatening. A new study demonstrates for the first time that an antimicrobial dye activated by light avidly adheres to bone to prevent bacteria from growing on bone fragments ...
Myriad to present new clinical data on Prolaris at the AUA 2015 Annual Meeting
2015-05-07
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 7, 2015 - Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) today announced it will present three studies that demonstrate the value of the Prolaris test for physicians and their patients at the 2015 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting being held May 15 to 19 in New Orleans, La.
Key presentations will showcase a new "active surveillance threshold" for men with localized prostate cancer based on the Prolaris test score, and the final results from PROCEDE 1000, which is the largest prospective clinical utility study to measure the impact of ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Shining light on how brain signals control stress
Small electric shocks to ear can boost self-compassion from meditation training
Metabolism may unlock the secret to a deeper understanding of neurodegeneration
Resource-poor neighborhood conditions may increase gestational diabetes risk
Turning down the dial on inflammation to protect against lupus nephritis
Mailing at-home test kits most effective in getting people ages 45 to 49 to screen for colorectal cancer, UCLA study finds
It’s not just how many – it’s when: Global study reveals people judge a potential partner’s sexual history by timing, not total number
Fast food, including cheeseburgers and fried chicken, shouldn’t be sold in hospitals, say most Americans in new poll
UofL research shows combined exposure to alcohol and “forever chemicals” increases liver damage
Brown University neuroscientists help identify a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease progression
Imperfect underground processes help filter wastewater in Florida Keys
Both flexibility and persistence make some birds successful in human-made environments
Biodiversity matters in every forest, but even more in wetter ones
Phase 3 study supports use of canagliflozin for type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents
Small protein, big impact: Insights into how bacteria stabilize a key outer membrane complex
Study finds gaps in evidence for air cleaning technologies designed to prevent respiratory infections
Study shows major health insurance gap for some adopted children
Midwestern butterfly count: Big data yields bad news and clues
New mega RNA virus may hold the key to mass oyster die-offs
Organized scientific fraud is growing at an alarming rate
A new alternative to opioids
Tracing brain chemistry across humanity’s family tree
Job opportunities are more important to refugees from Ukraine than social benefits
Major discovery of Ice Age bones in a Norwegian cave opens a window into the past
Revolutionizing lactation support and outcomes
New review highlights significant need for comprehensive care for gun violence survivors
Crop monitoring system utilizing IoT, AI and other tech showcased at ASABE
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries
Can botox be used to alleviate pain in a jaw disorder?
Why “sleeping on it” may improve learning and memory
[Press-News.org] Antioxidant effects of coffee by-products 500 times greater than vitamin CCoffee silverskin (the epidermis of the coffee bean) is usually removed during processing, after the beans have been dried, while the coffee grounds are normally directly discarded.