Coffee better than tea for anti-oxidants

October 10, 2002

Hi All,

I was pleasantly surprised to read in this PDF-available paper that coffee

is better than tea for anti-oxidant status. It seems that the test used

dictates the result. Uric acid interferes.

Cheers, Al.

Natella F, Nardini M, Giannetti I, Dattilo C, Scaccini C.

Coffee drinking influences plasma antioxidant capacity in humans.

J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Oct 9;50(21):6211-6.

PMID: 12358504 [PubMed - in process]

Alan Pater, Ph.D.; Faculty of Medicine; Memorial University; St. 's, NF

A1B 3V6 Canada; Tel. No.: (709) 777-6488; Fax No.: (709) 777-7010; email:

apater@...

1: J Agric Food Chem 2002 Oct 9;50(21):6211-6

Coffee drinking influences plasma antioxidant capacity in humans.

Natella F, Nardini M, Giannetti I, Dattilo C, Scaccini C.

Free Radical Research Group, National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition,

via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Roma, Italy.

Coffee and tea are widely consumed beverages, but only tea has been studied for

its antioxidant capacity (AC) in vivo. The aim of this study was to compare the

capacities of coffee and tea to affect plasma redox homeostasis in humans. The

AC of plasma before and after supplementation with 200 mL of beverages (0, 1,

and 2 h) was measured by the TRAP and crocin tests. The crocin test detected an

increase in plasma AC only in subjects supplemented with coffee (+7% at peak

time), whereas the TRAP method showed an increase in plasma AC after consumption

of both coffee and tea (+6 and +4%, respectively, at peak time). Both beverages

induced a significant increase in plasma uric acid (+5 and +7%, respectively).

Uric acid strongly affects the results obtained by the TRAP test and does not

affect those obtained by the crocin test. We can thus argue that uric acid is

the main component responsible for the plasma AC increase after tea drinking,

whereas molecules other than uric acid (probably phenolic compounds) are likely

to be responsible for the increase in plasma AC after coffee drinking.

PMID: 12358504 [PubMed - in process]

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