Coffee Deters DNA Damage

Previously, studies have suggested that regular coffee consumption decreases oxidative damage in peripheral white blood cells.  T. Bakuradze, from the University of Kaiserslautern (Germany), and colleagues investigated the consumption of a dark-roast coffee blend on the level of spontaneous DNA strand breaks.  The researchers enrolled 84 healthy men to consume daily for 4 weeks either 750 ml of fresh coffee brew or 750 ml of water, subsequent to a run in washout phase of 4 weeks. The study coffee was a blend providing high amounts of both caffeoylquinic acids (10.18 ± 0.33 mg/g) and the roast product N-methylpyridinium (1.10 ± 0.05 mg/g). Before and after the coffee/water consumption phase, the researchers conducted assays to assess for spontaneous DNA strand breaks.  Whereas at the study’s start, both groups exhibited a similar level of spontaneous DNA strand breaks – in the intervention phase, spontaneous DNA strand breaks slightly increased in the control (water only) group whereas they significantly decreased in the coffee group, leading to a 27 % difference. Observing that: “The consumption of the study coffee substantially lowered the level of spontaneous DNA strand breaks in [white blood cells,” the study authors write that: “We conclude that regular coffee consumption contributes to DNA integrity.”