A simple and reliable HPLC method was developed and validated for the quality consistency evaluation of Coffea arabica commercial samples through establishing chromatographic fingerprint and simultaneous determination of bioactive constituents. In the HPLC fingerprint, thirteen common peaks were selected to assess the similarities of coffee samples of different geographical origin. A similarity analysis showed values from 0.434 to 0.950 for the analyzed samples, while quantitation of selected bioactive compounds revealed the highest content of caffeine and the lowest of p-coumaric acid and theobromine in coffee samples. Since phenolic compounds and alkaloids are commonly recognized as natural antioxidants, the antioxidant activity of coffee extracts was also evaluated. The correlation analysis and principal component analysis indicated that the combination of HPLC fingerprint and quantitative analysis can be readily utilized as a quality assessment tool for coffee and other plant products.
Keywords: Coffea arabica; antioxidant activity; chemometric analysis; chromatographic fingerprint; secondary metabolites.