Trigonelline and sucrose diversity in wild Coffea species

Trigonelline and sucrose are two coffee aroma precursors. Contents of these compounds are higher in Coffea arabica than in Coffea canephora green beans and this could be the main explanation for consumersʹ preference for C. arabica coffee. This is the first evaluation of sucrose and trigonelline contents involving 14 species and six new taxa not yet botanically characterised. Trigonelline and sucrose contents varied between species from 0.39% to 1.77% dry matter basis (dmb) and from 3.8% to 10.7% dmb, respectively. C. canephora could be improved through both compounds by crosses with Coffea eugenioides.