ScienceDaily (June 16, 2008) — Drink coffee to send a wake-up call to the brain? Or just smell its rich, warm aroma? An international group of scientists is reporting some of the first evidence that simply inhaling coffee aroma alters the activity of genes in the brain.

In experiments with laboratory rats, they found that coffee aroma orchestrates the expression of more than a dozen genes and some changes in protein expressions, in ways that help reduce the stress of sleep deprivation.

Han-Seok Seo and colleagues point out that hundreds of studies have been done on the ingredients in coffee, including substances linked to beneficial health effects. "There are few studies that deal with the beneficial effects of coffee aroma," they note. "This study is the first effort to elucidate the effects of coffee bean aroma on the sleep deprivation-induced stress in the rat brain."

In an effort to begin filling that gap, they allowed lab rats to inhale coffee aroma, including some rats stressed by sleep deprivation. The study then compared gene and protein expressions in the rats' brains. Rats that sniffed coffee showed different levels of activity in 17 genes. Thirteen of the genes showed differential mRNA expression between the stress group and the stress with coffee group, including proteins with healthful antioxidant activity known to protect nerve cells from stress-related damage.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

1. Han-Seok Seo et al. Effects of Coffee Bean Aroma on the Rat Brain Stressed by Sleep Deprivation: A Selected Transcript- and 2D Gel-Based Proteome Analysis. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, June 25, 2008 DOI: 10.1021/jf8001137

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

enlarge

Scientists are reporting that simply inhaling coffee aroma alters the activity of genes in the brain. (Credit: iStockphoto/Dane Steffes)

Related Stories

Torrefacto-Roasted Coffee Has Higher Antioxidant Properties (Mar. 10, 2008) — Torrefacto-roasted coffee has higher antioxidant properties than natural roast, according to a young biologist. She has emphasized in her study that the addition of sugar during the roasting process ...  > read more

A Breath Mint Made From ... Coffee? (June 25, 2009) — We all know why Starbucks puts boxes of breath mints close to the cash register. Your morning latte can create a startling aroma in your mouth, strong enough to startle your co-workers too. But, ...  > read more

Brewing Up a Gentler Java: Dark-Roasted Coffee Contains Stomach-Friendly Ingredient (Mar. 22, 2010) — Stomach irritation preventing almost two out of every 10 people from enjoying coffee. Now, scientists report the discovery of several substances that may be among the culprits responsible for brewing ...  > read more

Women Who Choose Boiled Coffee Run Lower Risk of Breast Cancer, Swedish Study Finds (June 16, 2010) — Women who drink Scandinavian boiled coffee, which chemically resembles French press and Turkish/Greek coffee, more than four times a day run a lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily