FUNCTIONAL AND NUTRACEUTICAL POTENTIAL OF GRAFTED COFFEE (Coffea spp.) LEAVES DURING AN ANNUAL CYCLE

Phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic acid, caffeine, sugars, vitamins, minerals and volatile substances are major compounds of coffee (Coffea spp.). They perform distinctive biological functions and are classified as nutraceuticals and insecticides. In at least one phenological stage, coffee leaves are more likely to be used for commercial purposes. The objective of this study was to analyze leaf area, content of chlorophyll a, b and total, caffeine, chlorogenic acid (5-CGA), sugars and macro and micronutrients in arabica coffee leaves (Coffea arabica) var. Caturra rojo grafted on robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) var. Romex during an annual cycle. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed with the obtained data and the means were compared by the Tukey's test (p <= 0.05) for a factorial experiment. Sampling of 10 trees was done completely at random, and the samples were run in triplicate. The largest values occurred as follows: leaf area in the blooming and fruiting stage; chlorophyll a, b and total during the vegetative stage; caffeine in the blooming stage; 5-CGA was obtained during the vegetative stage, in which we observed the highest concentrations of glucose and fructose. The concentration of macronutrients, except Mg, was higher during the fruiting stage, while Fe and Zn were higher during blooming and Mn and B in fruiting. Macro and micronutrients accumulated during the fruiting stage. Coffee leaves may be both functional and nutraceutical during the vegetative and fruiting stages.