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of coffee value-added products from the waste and these
include among others;
HealthAspects:
The coffee by-products have many medicinal properties.
Some of them are listed here
·
Soluble Dietary Fibre and Heart Disease:
Atherosclerosis, is the loading of our arteries with deposits of
cholesterols, (i.e. low density lipoproteins or LDLs). Of prime
importance are our coronary arteries and the dangers of a
heart attack. Coffee pectins can boost the levels of the high
densityHDLs, which are the beneficial ones.
·
Pectins
are known for locking up bile acids, (where
those cholesterols come from), and taking them through the
small intestine to the colon or large intestine, where some of
them become food for bacteria which in turn protect against
colon cancer
·
Cation exchange properties:
Pectins, in the form
of galacturonicoligosaccharides, are like ion exchange resins.
They are able to form complexes with free calcium, iron and
other divalent metal ions in the diet and carry them out of the
body thus reducing the levelsof thesenutritional constituents.
·
Antioxidants:
Coffeemucilage, butmoreparticularly
the pulp, is not all pectins or protopectins. It also contains
a number of linked sugars and polyphenolic chemicals,
anthocyanins, proanthocyanins, and cyanidins, bioflavonoids
and tannins, not to mention caffeine and chlorogenic acids.
It should be pointed out that most of these benefits are also
conferred by eating lots of fresh fruit. “An apple a day…”
particularly ones with red skins, will supply many of these
chemicals.
·
Even Caffeine is losing its bad image:
Caffeine
andmore particularly those chlorogenic acids are particularly
good antioxidants. A news clip, ‘a cup of coffee is equal to
three oranges’.
·
FatReplacer:
Analreadywell-established technology
is the use of pectin emulsions to replace fat emulsions in
cookingandmanufactureof saladdressingsandmayonnaise.
The uses of Coffee waste and by-products are numerous;
however commercial processes need to be developed with
techno-economic feasibility in order to achieve the potential
values accordingly and utilization of coffee processing by-
products
Other potential uses are statedbelowalthoughmore research
is need;
·
Fermentation of coffee husks to produce citric acid
and gibberellic acid;
·
Use of pulp, husk coffee and silver coffee skin as a
substrate for production of enzyme a secondarymetabolites;
·
Use of spirit coffee and husks for bio ethanol
production;
·
Use of coffee by-products in production of bio active
compounds, oxidants and food additives and;
·
Anaerobic digestion of coffee husks and wasted
water toproduce biogas
In conclusion the benefits of coffee don’t stop in a great cup,
but also its waste products and by-products like mucilage,
husks, defective beans and spent grounds have been found
to have other useful alternative uses that not only reduce on
costs of production but also enable the users to sustain the
environment and economically empower users.
