Can drinking a cup of coffee be an effective way to protect yourself from the corona virus? According to biochemical research, something that has not yet been proven in practice is at least very plausible.

A team led by chemist Professor Nicolai Kunert, including Dorothea Schmidt and Jacobs University’s Nicolas Ohl, conducted an experiment – in the laboratory – in 2011. Chemical composition 5-caffeoylquinic acid (short name: Chlorogenic acidA substance found in coffee inhibits the interaction between the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus protein and the ACE-2 receptor by 50-fold.

A standard cup of filter coffee – which in the laboratory contains exactly 200 ml – contains 100 mg of 5-caffeoylquinic acid. Laboratory tests have shown that the 5-caffeoylquinic acid in this concentration is enough to prevent the spike protein from binding to the ACE-2 receptor – and thus inhibiting the infection process. More research is needed to confirm that this process works in practice.

It will also take more studies to determine how long the effects of the 5-caffeoylquinic acid vaccine last. “As chemists, we can’t answer the practical question of whether drinking coffee can act as a preventative measure against infection. But we can say it’s plausible,” Kunert said. “Many people drink coffee, and it has been proven to have many other positive effects,” says the chemist. Regular coffee drinkers are less likely to suffer from type II diabetes, for example, it suggests.

For their study of 5-caffeoylquinic acid on the spike protein and the ACE-2 receptor, the team led by Nikolai Kuhnert had to develop a new measurement technique: differential scanning fluorimetry, or nano-DSF. The team recently published a detailed description of this method in the journal Food and activity.

As a next step, the findings on the relationship between coffee and the coronavirus will now be sent to the wider research community. “Epidemiological studies can determine whether it is normal Coffee “Drinkers often get corona or not,” says Nikolai Kuhnert. The long-term context and implications of covid can also be seen here.