Roasting coffee appears to produce unique compounds not found within coffee which have suppressive effects on UV and chemical mutagens. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Suppressive effects of coffee on the SOS responses induced by UV and chemical mutagens.
Mutat Res. 1986 Oct ;175(2):47-50. PMID: 3093858
SOS-inducing activity of UV or chemical mutagens (AF-2, 4NQO and MNNG) was strongly suppressed by instant coffee in Salmonella typhimurium TA1535/pSK1002. As decaffeinated instant coffee showed a similarly strong suppressive effect, it would seem that caffeine, a known inhibitor of SOS responses, is not responsible for the effect observed. The suppression was also shown by freshly brewed coffee extracts. However, the suppression was absent in green coffee-bean extracts. These results suggest that coffee contains some substance(s) which, apart from caffeine, suppresses SOS-inducing activity of UV or chemical mutagens and that the suppressive substance(s) are produced by roasting coffee beans.