Evaluation of the content of bioactive compounds in cocoa beans during the fermentation process
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Evaluation of the content of bioactive compounds in cocoa beans during the fermentation process Thamires Santos Melo1 • Ta´ssia Cavalcante Pires1 • Joa˜o Victor Pereira Engelmann1 • Alana Lu´cia Oliveira Monteiro1 • Leonardo Fonseca Maciel1 • Eliete da Silva Bispo1
Revised: 24 July 2020 / Accepted: 11 August 2020 Ó Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2020
Abstract Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), one of the most important agricultural commodity products, is the key raw material for chocolate manufacturing. It is a source naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds and have been widely studied for their beneficial effects to human health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the fermentation time required to obtain more bioactive compounds and higher antioxidant activity in order to propose a mixture of unfermented and fermented cocoa beans in varying concentrations. Samples were collected every 12 h over a fermentation period of 144 h and evaluated according to their physico-chemical characteristics, as well as the content of bioactive compounds. It was verified that after 48 h of fermentation occurred a significant reduction in slate seeds, the appearance of partially fermented beans and the elevation of acidity and temperature. Until this period, a higher content of bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity was also observed. Thus, it is possible to propose a blend of cocoa beans fermented for 48 h and completely fermented beans to elaborate functional chocolates. Keywords Methylxantines Phenolic compounds Antioxidant activity Theobroma cacao L.
& Leonardo Fonseca Maciel [email protected] 1
Bromatological Analysis Department, School of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia-UFBA, Bara˜o de Jeremoabo Street, s/n, Ondina, Salvador CEP 40171-970, Brazil
Introduction Many studies have evaluated fruits, vegetables and tea as major sources of dietary antioxidative phenolics, but Lee et al. (2003) demonstrated the importance of cocoa with respect to the content of these compounds. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), the key raw material for chocolate manufacturing, is a cash crop of huge economic significance worldwide (Kra¨hmer et al. 2015), since its products have greater antioxidant capacity and a higher amounts of flavonoids per serving than either tea or red wine (Lee et al. 2003). Naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds have been widely studied for their beneficial effects to human health, as they can combat free radicals, which are harmful to the body and to food systems (Othman et al. 2007). In addition, they are responsible for the cardiovascular protective, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antineurodegenerative, antibacterial and anticariogenic properties of functional foods (Aprotosoaie et al. 2016). Cocoa beans have a high phenolic content of approximately 12–18% (dry weight), and 95% are flavanol monomers (epicatechin and catechin) and procyanidin oligomers (dimmer to decamer). Epicatechin has been reported as the main monomeric flavanol in cocoa beans. Depending o
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