Coffee bean-derived Extracellular Vesicles exhibit anti-cancer effects on neuroblastoma cells

While most studies on the anti-carcinogenic effects of coffee have focused on coffee extracts or individual compounds such as caffeine and chlorogenic acid, the therapeutic potential of coffee-derived Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) remains largely unexplored. Plant-Derived EVs have recently emerged as natural nanocarriers rich in bioactive molecules and have shown promise as innovative cancer therapeutics due to their high biocompatibility and low toxicity. This study investigated the anti-cancer effects of EVs isolated from unroasted and roasted Coffea arabica beans on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Coffee EVs were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis and TET8 protein expression, confirming their identity and stability. Treatment with both unroasted and roasted coffee EVs significantly reduced neuroblastoma cell viability, as demonstrated by MTT assays. Further analysis using DAPI staining and flow cytometry found that both types of EVs induced apoptosis, with roasted coffee EVs exhibiting a stronger pro-apoptotic effect, particularly in promoting late-stage apoptosis. This is the first study to comparatively evaluate the anti-cancer effects of EVs derived from unroasted and roasted coffee beans. The findings provide evidence that coffee-derived EVs can induce apoptosis in neuroblastoma cancer cells and suggest that roasting enhances their therapeutic properties, potentially through the enrichment of secondary metabolites and melanoidins. The results highlight the potential of coffee EVs not only as natural anti-cancer agents but also as biocompatible delivery vehicles for combinatorial cancer therapies. Further investigation that elucidates the underlying molecular mechanisms and measures their effects across other cancer cells is needed to realize this potential.