TITLE:
Effect of Robusta (Coffea canephora P.) Coffee Cherries Storage after Harvest before Putting Out for Sun Drying on Development of Toxigenic Fungi and the Variation of the Physicochemical Components
AUTHORS:
Irene Ahou Kouadio, Mathias Kouame Koffi, Mireille Bretin Dosso
KEYWORDS:
Coffee Cherries; Fungi; Aspergillus; Toxigenic; Physicochemical Components
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.5 No.2,
January
14,
2014
ABSTRACT: In this study, the
effects of the storage duration of coffee cherries after harvest before putting
out for sun drying on the kinetics of drying, fungi development and the
variation of physicochemical content were evaluated. The results showed that
the longer coffee cherries were stored after harvest before putting out for sun
drying, the quicker they dried. Indeed, the drying durations were 19, 16, 12,
10, 7 days respectively for coffee cherries put out for sun drying at the day
of harvest, the second, the fourth, the sixth and the eighth day after harvest.
However, this storage of the cherries after harvest before putting out for sun
drying led to the increasing to the infection of cherries by fungi. Indeed,
samples of more contaminated inside were those from the lots of cherries stored
8 days after harvest before putting out for sun drying with 55.55% of the
samples infected with a percentage of infected beans between 10% and 50%, and
44.45% of the samples were infected with a percentage of infected beans between
50% and 100%. Furthermore, those put out for sun drying at the day of harvest
were free inside by fungi. Among the fungi isolated, toxigenic species was
found. However, no relationship between the frequencies of ochratoxin A
producing strains isolated and the storage duration of the cherries after
harvest before putting out for sun drying was noted. This storage of the
cherries after harvest before putting out for sun drying also led to the
acidification of the cherries (pH = 5.27 - 3.6) and the degradation of their
chlorogenic acids content (12.58% - 10.30%) while for their caffeine content
(2.53% - 2.55%). No significant difference was observed about the storage
duration of the cherries after harvest before putting out for sun drying.