Make mine a stomach friendly coffee

22nd March 2010 - Scientists say they’ve pinpointed several components of coffee that may cause many people to suffer stomach aches and heartburn.

The researchers, from Austria and Germany, say their discovery of ‘culprit’ substances could lead to a new generation of stomach-friendly brews with the rich taste and aroma of normal coffee but without the acid-producing chemicals that cause irritation.

Veronika Somoza, of the University of Vienna in Austria, and Thomas Hofman, of the Technische Universitat Munchen in Germany, say their finding "is going to help a lot of people who suffer from coffee sensitivity" and that, as coffee lovers, they’re "very excited about this research".

They say their investigation shows, for the first time, that caffeine, catechols and chemical-substances called N-alkanoly-5-hydroxtryptamides stimulate molecular mechanisms of stomach acid secretion in human stomach cells.

"We found out there’s no single, key irritant," Somoza says in a news release. "It is a mixture of compounds that seem to cause the irritant effect of coffee."

That effect is apparently significant, explaining why many people either shun coffee or know they can't drink as much as they’d like.

"The problem is that studies have not verified the stomach irritating potential of coffee or its components until now,” Somoza says. "Manufacturers currently make ‘stomach friendly’ coffees by processing raw coffee beans with steam or solvents intended to reduce levels of the irritants."

But the processes used to make such stomach-friendly concoctions can also reduce the amounts of healthy substances, Somoza says, including some that have been linked to benefits, such as protection against diabetes and heart disease.

Ironically, the researchers report, espresso, French roast, and other dark-roasted coffee may be less hard on the stomach because they contain a substance that tells the stomach to reduce acid production.

Stomach friendly coffee

The scientists exposed cultures of human cells to a variety of coffee preparations, including regular, dark-roast, mild, decaffeinated and stomach friendly, and pinpointed the irritants.

They say they unexpectedly found that one of the components, N-methylpyridinium, or NMP, seemed to block the ability of stomach cells to produce hydrochloric acid and could offer a way to reduce or avoid stomach irritation.

Since that chemical is generated only during roasting and isn’t found in raw coffee beans, darker-roasted coffees contain higher amounts of this stomach-friendly substance, the researchers say.

According to Somoza, dark-roasted coffee can potentially contain up to twice as much of this beneficial ingredient as light-roasted brews, but its levels vary widely depending on the variety of bean and the roasting method.

"Since NMP is generated upon roasting, dark-roasted coffees contain high amounts of this stomach friendly coffee ingredient," the researchers say.

"There is hope for a good morning start with a freshly-brewed cup of optimised stomach friendly coffee,” they say.

They are testing varieties of raw coffee beans and different roasting methods to try to boost levels of the ‘stomach friendly’ chemical.

Their research was presented to the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco.