Coffee compounds may help explain the drink’s long-standing health benefits, study suggests
Scientists believe they may have uncovered one of the biological reasons why coffee has so often been associated with better health and longer life.
Researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have found that several naturally occurring compounds in coffee can activate a receptor known as NR4A1, which plays an important role in how the body responds to stress, inflammation and tissue damage. Their findings have been published in the journal Nutrients.
Coffee has previously been linked in large observational studies to a lower risk of conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and metabolic disorders. However, researchers have struggled to identify the biological processes that might explain those associations.
The new study suggests NR4A1 could be one piece of that puzzle.
According to lead researcher Dr Stephen Safe, distinguished professor and Sid Kyle Endowed Chair in Veterinary Toxicology at Texas A&M, the receptor acts as a type of nutrient sensor that responds to compounds found in food and drink. Previous research has shown it helps reduce damage when tissues are injured, while the loss of the receptor can lead to more severe damage.
Using laboratory models, the research team discovered that several coffee compounds, particularly naturally occurring polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds such as caffeic acid, were able to bind to NR4A1 and influence its activity.
Those compounds reduced cellular damage and slowed the growth of cancer cells in the laboratory. When researchers removed the receptor from the cells, those protective effects disappeared, suggesting NR4A1 was responsible for at least part of the response.
The findings also indicate that caffeine itself may not be the main reason coffee has been linked with positive health outcomes. While caffeine was found to bind to the receptor, it showed relatively little activity compared with other naturally occurring compounds that are also found in many fruits and vegetables.
That could help explain why previous population studies have reported similar health associations for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
The researchers caution that coffee is chemically complex and is likely to influence the body through multiple biological pathways. They also stress that the study examined biological mechanisms rather than proving that drinking coffee directly prevents disease in people.
Even so, the work provides scientists with a potential explanation for one of nutrition research’s longest-running observations and could also help guide future research into medicines targeting NR4A1 for diseases including cancer.
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