Coffee seeds present slow germination, increasing hence the period of formation of seedlings. The cause that slow germination is not elucidated yet. Apparently, the diffusion of gases and water has a secondary role as compared with the effect of inhibitors present. The present research work was developed in the Seed Sector of the Agriculture Department and in the Chemistry Department of the Universidade Federal de Lavras. In a previous research by utilizing lettuce seeds as an indicator of inhibitors and aqueous extract of spermoderm (silvery film), the presence of inhibitors in this tissue was evidenced. In a second step, the aqueous step of the silvery film was submitted to a fractionating, in vitro test. It was observed by means of that test, that the active fraction was in the methanol phase, which was concentrated under vacuum and eluted through gel silica column with methanol, distilled water and 0.1M HCl. After concentration under vacuum, of active fraction gave rised to a white solid, which showed itself homogenous according to the thin layer chromatography analysis with gel silica plates. By means of the infrared, mass and ¹H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, the caffeine structure was ascribed to such a solid. It follows that spermoderm may contribute to the slow germination of coffee seeds, possibly due to the presence of caffeine.
seeds; coffee; germination; inhibitors
