Coffea (coffee) species are grown in almost all countries along the Equator. Many members of the genus have a large production history and an important role both in the global market and researches. Seeds (Coffeae semen) are successfully used in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries due to its caffeine and high polyphenol content. Nowadays, the three best-known coffee species are Arabic (Coffea arabica L.), Robusta (Coffea robusta L. Linden), and Liberian coffees (Coffea liberica Hiern.). Even though, many records are available on coffee in scientific literature, wild coffee species like Bengal coffee (Coffea benghalensis Roxb. Ex Schult.) could offer many new opportunities and challenges for phytochemical and medical studies. In this comprehensive summary, we focused on the ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, and medical significance of coffee species up to the present.

The obtained data highlight the potential role of C. benghalensis as a new source of natural antioxidants and polyphenols compared to C. arabica.

Coffea arabica L. is the most well-known and studied Coffea taxa, which is very popular in both scientific and social fields. This comprehensive work was created in order to describe its phytochemical composition and to present the metabolism of caffeine, which is the most important alkaloid from this plant. The analytical methods used for caffeine determination such as chromatographic, electrochemical, and spectroscopic techniques are also presented. In addition, this work emphasizes the medicinal importance of caffeine, which can present both important beneficial and secondary effects for human body.

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