Kunming Institute of Botany

MONDAY, Jan. 19, 2026 — Coffee may do more than boost energy. New research suggests that certain compounds found in roasted coffee beans could help slow how quickly sugar enters the bloodstream, a finding that could one day support new foods aimed at managing type 2 diabetes . Scientists have identified three previously unknown compounds in roasted coffee that strongly block α-glucosidase, an enzyme that helps the body break down carbohydrates during digestion. That enzyme plays a key role in how fast sugar enters the blood. Slowing it down can help prevent spikes in blood sugar. The research was led by Minghua Qiu at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and published in the journal Beverage Plant Research . The findings add to the growing evidence that coffee may offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition (and taste). Finding helpful compounds in foods is challenging because they contain thousands of interlinked chemicals. To tackle this, the research team used advanced lab tools, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), to carefully analyze roasted Coffea arabica beans. Using a three-step screening process, the scientists narrowed down the most chemically active portions of the coffee extract. After further testing and purification, they isolated three new compounds, which they named caffaldehydes A, B and C. All three compounds strongly blocked α-glucosidase. Their effectiveness, which was measured by IC₅₀ values, ranged from 45.07 to 17.50 micromoles, making them more potent than acarbose , a drug commonly used to treat diabetes . (The lower the IC₅₀ value, the greater the potency.) The team then used additional mass spectrometry tools to search for harder-to-detect substances. That analysis uncovered three more previously unknown compounds. Together, the results show that the researchers’ method can uncover meaningful health-related compounds in complex foods like coffee. The findings suggest that coffee-based ingredients could one day be developed to help support blood sugar control. Researchers say future studies will test whether these compounds are safe and effective in living organisms. Sources Maximum Academic Press, news release, Jan. 11, 2026

Roasted coffee may do more than wake you up—it could help control blood sugar. Researchers discovered several new coffee compounds that inhibit α-glucosidase, a key enzyme linked to type 2 diabetes. Some of these molecules were even more potent than a common anti-diabetic drug. The study also introduced a faster, greener way to uncover health-boosting compounds in complex foods.Three newly identified compounds were found to strongly inhibit α-glucosidase, an enzyme that plays a central role in breaking down carbohydrates during digestion. Because this enzyme directly affects how quickly sugars enter the bloodstream, the discovery points to possible new functional food ingredients aimed at managing type 2 diabetes. Functional foods offer more than basic nutrition. Many contain naturally occurring molecules that may support health, including compounds with antioxidant, neuroprotective, or glucose-lowering effects. Finding these helpful substances is difficult because foods are chemically complex. Older discovery methods can be slow and inefficient, which has pushed researchers to adopt more advanced tools such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). These techniques are especially valuable for studying roasted coffee, which contains a wide range of overlapping chemical components. Study Reveals Anti Diabetic Potential in Coffee Researchers led by Minghua Qiu at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported their findings in Beverage Plant Research. Their work highlights previously unknown anti-diabetic activity in coffee and adds new insight into its role as a functional food. The team designed a three-step, activity-focused process to uncover bioactive diterpene esters in roasted Coffea arabica beans. Their approach aimed to detect both common and extremely low-level compounds that could inhibit α-glucosidase, while also reducing solvent use and speeding up analysis. First, the crude diterpene extract was separated into 19 fractions using silica gel chromatography. Each fraction was then analyzed with ^1H NMR and tested for α-glucosidase inhibition. By applying cluster heatmap analysis to the ^1H NMR data, the researchers identified Fr.9-Fr.13 as the most biologically active fractions based on distinctive proton signal patterns. Further analysis of a representative sample, Fr.9, using ^13C-DEPT NMR revealed the presence of an aldehyde group, confirming earlier findings. After purification with semi-preparative HPLC, the scientists isolated three previously unknown diterpene esters, named caffaldehydes A, B, and C. Their chemical structures were verified through 1D and 2D NMR along with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRESIMS). Stronger Effects Than a Common Diabetes Drug Although the three caffaldehydes differed in their fatty acid components (palmitic, stearic, and arachidic acids), all showed notable α-glucosidase inhibition. Their IC₅₀ values were 45.07, 24.40, and 17.50 μM respectively, indicating stronger activity than the comparison drug acarbose. To uncover additional trace compounds that were difficult to detect using NMR or HPLC alone, the team applied LC-MS/MS to combined fraction groups. They then built a molecular network using GNPS and Cytoscape. This analysis revealed three more previously unknown diterpene esters (compounds 4-6) that were closely related to caffaldehydes A-C. While they shared similar fragment patterns, these molecules contained different fatty acids (magaric, octadecenoic, and nonadecanoic acids). Searches of existing compound databases confirmed that these substances had not been reported before. Together, the results show that this integrated dereplication strategy is highly effective for identifying structurally diverse and biologically meaningful compounds in complex foods such as roasted coffee. What This Means for Functional Foods and Future Research The findings suggest new opportunities to develop coffee-based functional foods or nutraceuticals that support glucose control and may help manage diabetes. Beyond coffee, the same low-solvent, high-precision screening approach could be applied to other complex food sources to rapidly uncover health-related compounds. Future studies will focus on testing the biological effects of the newly discovered trace diterpenes and evaluating their safety and effectiveness in vivo.