Scientists from Kanazawa University in Japan have identified kahweol acetate and
cafestol -- hydrocarbon compounds naturally found in Arabica coffee -- which may inhibit growth of prostate cancer.
It was not just caffeine, but a mix of compounds including hydroxycinnamic acids notably chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, diterpenes eg
cafestol and kahweol, and caffeic acid, that is said to be the reason behind the link, said Mattias Carlstrom, Associate Professor from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
A combination of coffee's compounds, including trigonelline,
cafestol, cafeic acid and chlorogenic acid, are thought to be important.
Professor Hermansen's presentation also drew on his own research into coffee compounds such as caffeic acid and
cafestol.
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Cafestol: An anti-inflammatory substance in the brain, and also a modulator for bile acid in the intestines.
Among them, one finds caffeine, which elevates the blood pressure; diterpenes, such as
cafestol and kahweol, which may lead to metabolic disorders like dyslipidemias; and chlorogenic acids, which protect from atheromatous plaque formation.
American and Italian studies found the caffeine, coffee oils, kahweol,
cafestol and antioxidants protect the organ.
The molecular mechanisms for anticancer effects of coffee compounds are as follows: (1) The antioxidant of coffee may reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS), that can induce DNA damage provoked.32 (2) Coffee can enhance endogenous defense systems by inducing a complex of nuclear clear factor erythroid-2-like 2 factor (Nrf2), and the
cafestol of the coffee can increase the endogenous antioxidant too.33,34 (3) Coffee's chemopreventive effect can induce DNA repair capacity.
In cell cultures and animal studies, two diterpenes called
cafestol and kahweol inhibit certain carcinogens and reduce concentrations of liver DNA adducts (pieces of DNA bound to cancer-causing chemicals).
Among them, are phenols, including chlorogenic and caffeic acid, lactones, diterpenes, including
cafestol and kahweol, niacin, and the vitamin B3 precursor trigonelline.