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Does coffee have any known anti-bacteria properties? Is it more immune to be consumed by bacteria than other food products? Does it kill bacteria in mouth when drunk by infected people?

I'm interested if there are any scientific research on that matter.

  • In this (http://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/295/coffee-in-a-flask-how-long-can-i-store) question, bacteria developing in coffee is discussed, and it seems it is not more resistant than water from bacteria growth. – Ludwik Feb 06 '15 at 08:57
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    to follow up on @Ludwik's comment, I have found a number of research articles discussing bacteria eating caffeine. I cannot find good information on what temperature the bacteria dies/grows at and if it is active in the brewed coffee or not. The most common research I have found discusses separating the bacteria from dirt and feeding it caffeine, so it might not even survive in coffee. – Justin C Feb 06 '15 at 15:05

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The Following Abstract from this paper suggested that coffee has antibacterial properties

ABSTRACT The present study was carried out with water soluble portion and pure solvent of the acetone, ethanol, methanol, acetonit rile, water) extracts of leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis (green tea), and beans of Coffea arabica (coffee) . Caffeine (3,7 - dihydr o - 1, 3,7 - trimethyl - 1H - purine - 2,6 - dione) was isolated from both plants using a liquid - liquid extraction method, detected on thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates in comparison with standard caffeine, which served as a positive control. After performing the gross behavioral study, the Antibacterial activity was evaluated against Gram - negative bacteria included; Escherichia coli , Proteus mirabilis , Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Both compounds at a concentration of 2 mg/ml showed similar anti bacterial activities against all tested bacteria, except for P. mirabilis , and the highest inhibitory effect was observed against P. aeruginosa using a modified agar diffusion method. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of caffeine was determined us ing a broth microdilution method in 96 multi - well microtitre plates. MIC values ranged from 65.5 to 250.0 μ g/ml for the caffeine isolated from coffee and 65.5 to 500.0 μ g/ml for green tea caffeine. Combination results showed additive effects against most p athogenic bacteria especially for P. aeruginosa, using both antibacterial assays. Key Words: Caffeine, MIC values, Antibacterial activity , Coffea arabica .

06needhamt
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