Search

Cocoa and its main derivative, chocolate, are an important source of antioxidant compounds for human nutrition. Polyphenols are the main antioxidants present in chocolate and are affected by the industrialisation processes of cocoa beans. In this regard, the effect of incorporating raw cocoa during the final stage of the refining process on the antioxidant capacity and phenolic content of dark chocolate was studied. For this purpose, dark chocolates (70%) were made with the incorporation of raw cocoa paste (10, 20 and 30% w/w) in the final refining stage. The antioxidant capacity of all the treatments was determined by the DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method and the total phenolic content by the Folin Ciocalteu spectrophotometric method. It was observed that the incorporation of raw cocoa significantly increases the content of antioxidants and total polyphenols in chocolate. As the dose of raw cocoa increases, the antioxidant activity of the chocolate increases linearly (R2=0.996); on the other hand, the polyphenol content increases exponentially (R2=0.968). Only the lowest dose (10%) doubles the phenolic content and the ratio decreases with higher doses of incorporation. The results suggest that the incorporation of raw cocoa in the formulations makes it possible to obtain chocolates with high phenolic content, improving the technological processes for using cocoa produced in the tropical Andes to develop bioactive chocolates, in line with new consumer demand.

Cocoa beans are the raw material for the chocolate industry. In this study, the total fat contents and fatty acid profiles of fine-aroma cocoa beans of 30 cocoa ecotypes from northeastern Peru were evaluated. Results showed that SJJ-1 and ACJ-11 ecotypes from San Martin and Amazonas regions, respectively, presented highest percentages of total fat with an average of 30.49%. With respect to fatty acid profiles, it was found that cocoa ecotypes are composed of 10 fatty acids (C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, C17:0, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, C20:0, and C22:0); based on this profile, 5 clusters were determined. Cluster 5 had the highest content of C17:0 fatty acid (0.47%); however, the clusters 1, 2, 3, and 4 had the lowest content of this fatty acid (0.37%, 0.32%, 0.32%, respectively). The clusters 3 and 4 showed the highest content of C16:0 fatty acid (31.13% y 28.97%, respectively). The clusters 3 and 5 contained the highest content of the acid C18:1 (27.08% y 26.82%, respectively). The PCA found that C18:0 and C20:0 fatty acids are correlated, and are fundamentally opposite to C18:1, C16:0, and C18:3 acids. These results may be useful in identifying raw material for the development of specialty chocolates with better nutritional value than traditional cocoa. © Copyright © 2021 Oliva-Cruz, Mori-Culqui, Caetano, Goñas, Vilca-Valqui and Chavez. The authors would like to acknowledge the funding of the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica (FONDECYT) through the Project with Contract N◦ 026-2016 Círculo de Investigación para la Innovación y el fortalecimiento de la cadena de valor del cacao nativo fino de aroma en la zona nor oriental del Perú-CINCACAO, and the support and execution of this project by the Instituto de Investigación para el Desarrollo Sustentable de Ceja de Selva (INDES-CES).

El objetivo de este estudio fue ver el efecto del tipo de azúcar en la aceptación y compuestos bioactivos de chocolate oscuro elaborado con cacao criollo fino de aroma cultivado en Amazonas, Perú. Para ello se elaboraron chocolates oscuros (75% de cacao) con cuatro azúcares distintas (azúcar blanca, azúcar rubia, panela oscura y panela clara). A los chocolates se les midió la puntuación en color, aroma, sabor y textura sensoriales con 18 panelistas semientrenados; luego se midió la capacidad antioxidante empleando la técnica de captura del radical libre 2,2-difenil-1-picrilhidrazilo (DPPH), los datos fueron expresados en mg de trolox equivalente. Los resultados mostraron que los chocolates edulcorados con panela clara, tuvieron mayor puntuación en color y el uso de azúcar blanca fue menos valorada por los panelistas en este atributo. Todos los tratamientos obtuvieron valoraciones estadísticamente iguales para aroma, sabor y textura. Los chocolates con azúcar blanca conservaron mejor los compuestos bioactivos obteniendo mayor capacidad antioxidante. En conclusión, el tipo de azúcar no afecta el aroma, sabor y textura de chocolates oscuros (70% de cacao), sin embargo, el color y la capacidad antioxidante se ven afectadas considerablemente.