"This work, for the first time, demonstrates the enzymes and genes utilized by bacteria to live on caffeine," says Summers. León-Carmona and Galano proposed five mechanisms of caffeine reaction with ROS, namely, radical adduct formation (RAF), hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), single electron transfer (SET), sequential. Another potential application is the decaffeination of coffee and tea as an alternative to harsh chemicals currently used. Using CBB5 enzymes would allow for easier pharmaceutical production, thus lowering their cost. The molecules are held together in the lattice by OHN and CHO intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The caffeine molecule shows significant deviations from planarity. The unit cell parameters are abcR value of 0.077. Further testing showed that the compounds formed during break down of caffeine are natural building blocks for drugs used to treat asthma, improve blood flow and stabilize heart arrhythmias.Ĭurrently these pharmaceuticals are difficult to synthesize chemically. Crystals of a 1:1 complex of caffeine and 5-chlorosalicylic acid are orthorhombic with space group P bcn. Summers and his colleagues have identified the three enzymes responsible for the N-demethylization and the genes that code for these enzymes. This bacterium is able to effectively remove these methyl groups (a process known as N-demethylization) and essentially live on caffeine. Within the caffeine molecule are three structures, known as methyl groups, composed of 1 carbon and 3 hydrogens atoms. "We have isolated a new caffeine-degrading bacterium, Pseudomonas putida CBB5, which breaks caffeine down into carbon dioxide and ammonia," says Ryan Summers, who presents his research today at the 111th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans.Ĭaffeine itself is composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, all of which are necessary for bacterial cell growth.
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