Antioxidative activity of a zinc-chelating substance in coffee.

Coffee brew contains a brownish zinc-chelating polymer designated ApV. ApV was prepared from the precipitate formed in a solution of instant coffee by adding ZnCl(2) and purified using ion-exchange and cellulose column chromatographies. The antioxidative activities of ApV and related compounds were evaluated in this study. The free-radical scavenging activity of ApV estimated by ABTS assay was at a similar level to that of instant coffee, while the O(2)(-) scavenging activity of ApV, which is superoxide dismutase-like activity, was lower than that of instant coffee. The hydroxyl-radical scavenging activity of ApV was higher than that of instant coffee, and the auto-oxidation of linoleic acid was more strongly inhibited by ApV than by caffeic acid.