Discrimination of arabica coffee cultivars by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and chemometrics

Abstract: Green beans of Coffea arabica (arabica coffee) cultivars with Sarchimor and Catuaí genetic background were grown under the same edaphoclimatic conditions, in two different regions, and analysed by direct-infusion electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR MS) followed by a metabolomic approach. A total of 20 coffee metabolites including phenolic compounds, fatty acids, sucrose, and diterpene glycosides were identified by negative ESI FT-ICR MS with a mass error <2 ppm. Furthermore, the multivariate data analysis techniques principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) successfully discriminated the arabica coffee cultivars with Sarchimor from those with Catuaí genetic background, and also revealed the correlations between the coffee metabolites with the arabica cultivars and their growing region. This methodology could be used to identify coffee cultivars according to their genetic background as well as coffees from different growing regions, being a valuable tool for traceability and certification processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]