NEW YORK: Coffee is beneficial for health we all know, but unused coffee bean extracts can also help reduce fat-induced inflammation in the cells and improved glucose absorption and insulin sensitivity, find researchers.

When coffee beans are processed and roasted the husk and silverskin of the bean are removed and unused, and often are left behind in fields by coffee producers.

Food science and human nutrition researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered inflammation-fighting phenolic compounds — protocatechuic acid and gallic acid — in the silverskin and husk of coffee beans not only for their benefits in alleviating chronic disease but also in adding value to would-be ”waste” products from the coffee processing industry.

“This material from coffee beans is interesting mainly because of its composition. It’s been shown to be non-toxic. And these phenolics have a very high antioxidant capacity,” said Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia, Professor of food science and co-author of the study published in Food and Chemical Toxicology.