Authentication of coffee by means of PCR-RFLP analysis and lab-on-a-chip capillary electrophoresis

Coffee is one of the most important world food commodities, commercial trade consisting almost entirely of Arabica and Robusta varieties. The former is considered to be of superior quality and thus attracts a premium price. Methods to differentiate these coffee species could prove to be beneficial for the detection of either deliberate or accidental adulteration. This study describes a molecular genetics approach to differentiate Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. This employs a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism to monitor a single nucleotide polymorphism within the chloroplastic genome. Samples were analyzed with a lab-on-a-chip capillary electrophoresis system. Coffee powder mixtures were analyzed with this technique, displaying a 5% limit of detection. The plastid copy number was found to be relatively constant across a wide range of bean samples, suggesting that this methodology can also be employed for the quantification of any adulteration of Arabica with Robusta beans.