Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Does the smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing get you going in the morning? Do you experience a .jpg)
rush of energy simply by getting a whiff of freshly-brewed joe? If you do, there may be a genetic explanation for it.
A group of scientists at Seoul National University in Korea exposed sleep-deprived rats to coffee bean aroma and then assessed the effects by performing genetic and protein analysis on their brain tissue. These results were compared with those obtained from sleep-deprived rats that were not exposed to coffee. Unstressed, non-coffee exposed and unstressed - coffee exposed rats served as controls in these experiments.
According to results published in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Science, the Korean scientists found that mRNA levels of 11 of 13 genes were elevated in the coffee-exposed rats: the levels of 2 others were decreased. They also found differential expression of proteins (using mass spectroscopy) in the two groups of rats. For example, a protein known to have an antioxidant effect was expressed at higher levels in the coffee-treated group.
So what does this all mean? According to the authors “the roasted coffee bean aroma changes the mRNA and protein expression levels of the rat brain, providing for the first time clues to the potential antioxidant or stress relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma.” Will these observations hold true for humans? Only time will tell. That said, remember that the best laid plans of mice (rats?) and men often go astray.
Until next time…
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Starbucks) !!!!!
