The detection of impurities and mixes in coffee is a constant concern, especially in relation to the product quality assurance. A mix, intentional or not, of foreign materials to the product, usually of low-cost, which alter the product quality and can cause damages to consumers, particularly those of economic nature, is considered fraud (Assad, Sano, Correa, Rodrigues, & Cunha, 2002). According to the ISO 3509: Coffee and its products – vocabulary – The International Organization Selleck GSK1120212 for Standardization, defines “impurities” as any foreign matter, which may be found in coffee like: wood,

twigs, husks (or straw), and whole cherries (ISO, 1989). In Brazil, the most frequently Dabrafenib substances reported by the literature, added to coffee are: husks and sticks, corn, barley, wheat middling, brown sugar, and soybean (Assad et al., 2002); rye, triticale, and acai may also be added to this list (ABIC, 2012b). According to Bernal, Toribio, Del Alamo, and Del Nozal (1996), the individual determination of carbohydrates has gained significant importance not only for providing compositional information on samples,

but also for assisting in the identification of adulterants. The carbohydrate profile studies, carried out by Blanc, Davis, Viani, and Parchet (1989) for hundreds of samples of commercial soluble coffees using HPLC with UV–Vis detection, enabled to verify the addition of coffee husk extracts at concentrations above 25%. In this studies, the concentration of free and total carbohydrates made it possible to evidence frauds by the determination of intentional contamination with coffee husk and ligneous material (sticks) that had caused an increase in the content of mannitol, xylose, glucose, and fructose, as well as to distinguish pure products from adulterated ones by verifying the adulterant nature (Nogueira & Lago, Liothyronine Sodium 2009). For roasted and ground coffee the total carbohydrates content are still

scarce in the literature (Garcia et al., 2009). Methods for the liquid chromatographic analysis of carbohydrates often have employed columns of amino-bonded silica-based or of metal-loaded cation-exchange polymer-based. These columns have the advantage of not requiring regeneration after every run. However, columns of metal-loaded cation-exchange require heating presenting low resolution, with restrictions on pH range and in use of organic solvents (Dionex, 2012). Although, according to Lanças (2004) mobile phases of liquid chromatography represent a powerful tool for manipulation the analyte retention and selectivity, but in this case usually precludes the use of gradients and often requires stringent sample cleanup prior to injection.