Cocoa beans are rich source of polyphenols, contributing about 10% of the dry weight of the whole bean and its derivative chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, is considered one of the major contributors of antioxidants to the American diet after fruits and vegetables. At present the wide variation in cocoa processing and in the content and profile of polyphenols make it difficult to determin...

The Ghanaian cocoa bean heap fermentation process was studied through a multiphasic approach, encompassing both microbiological and metabolite target analyses. A culture-dependent (plating and incubation, followed by repetitive-sequence-based PCR analyses of picked-up colonies) and culture-independent (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis [DGGE] of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, PCR-DGGE) approach...

Cocoa beans are the basic raw material for the production of chocolate and other chocolate products. To obtain these products, the seeds must be subjected to a complicated technological process in which one of the key steps is roasting. A widely used method of roasting cocoa beans is convection roasting which is based on subjecting the raw beans to a flow of hot air in the temperature range bet...

BACKGROUND Unsweetened natural cocoa has antimalarial properties. Unsweetened natural cocoa powder (UNCP), obtained as a result of the removal of cocoa butter from a cocoa bean protects against malaria episodes. Cocoa powder, which is prepared after removal of the cocoa butter, contains about 1.9 % theobromine and 0.21 % caffeine. Concomitant consumption of cocoa and artemether/lumefantrine (A/...

Numerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic, making their presence in foods and the environment a health concern. This study assessed the contamination and or/ formation of PAHs in cocoa butter as affected by their cocoa bean drying methods. Three major drying methods were evaluated, including full sundrying, full artificial drying and the drying combination of sundrying f...

Cocoa bean fermentation is an important process in the manufacturing of cocoa products. It involves microbes, such as lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and acetic bacteria. The presence mold undesired, it reduces quality may produce mycotoxins, which can cause poisoning death. Aspergillus niger a fungus that produces ochratoxin A, often found dried agricultural products seeds cereals. In this study,...

Hermetic storage has provided a successful storage method for protection of commodities without fumigants or need for refrigeration for insect control and quality preservation of stored products. Hermetic storage is achieved in specially constructed plastic structures for the preservation of cereal grains and other commodities. Plastic structures suitable for long-term storage systems, as well ...

Cocoa bean fermentation is typically performed in a spontaneous manner on farms tropical countries or areas and involves several microbial groups. Metabolism by microbes markedly affects the quality of cocoa beans fermented chocolate produced thereof. The present study characterized microbiota their metabolic profiles temperature- humidity-controlled intra-factory semitropical area Japan. Altho...

Group dynamics features are important factors for improving farmers’ socio-economic status. This study focused on the effect of group dynamics features on the socio-economic status of cocoa farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 93 cocoa farmers for the study. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were used to analyze the data. Results showed ...