Cocoa and cocoa products have received much attention due to their significant polyphenol contents. Cocoa and cocoa products, namely cocoa liquor, cocoa powder and chocolates (milk and dark chocolates) may present varied polyphenol contents and possess different levels of antioxidant potentials. For the past ten years, at least 28 human studies have been conducted utilizing one of these cocoa p...

A study was carried out to determine the correlation between lipase activity in cocoa beans and the presence of free fatty acids which could affect the aroma and flavour of cocoa. Lipase activity fell from 0.46 to 0.15 ~mol/min/mg protein during six days of fermentation. Changes in the pH from 6.6 to 5.1 in the cotyledon and the increase in temperature seems to have contributed to the decrease ...

The main procyanidins, including dimeric B2 and B5, trimeric C1, tetrameric and pentameric procyanidins, were isolated from unroasted cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao L.) using various techniques of countercurrent chromatography, such as high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC), low-speed rotary countercurrent chromatography (LSRCCC) and spiral-coil LSRCCC. Furthermore, dimeric procyanidins...

Roasting is one of the basic unit operations in the cocoa base industries.Cocoa beans were roasted using superheated steam oven in superheated steam mode at 150, 200 and 250C for 50 min. The effect of heating time and temperatures with roasting methods on the moisture content, color and texture of the cocoa beans were studied. The changes occurred in the moisture content, colorvalues (L-, a-, b...

to evaluate the effect of roasting and dutching processes on the stability of b-aflatoxins (afb1+afb2), experimental units of cocoa beans contaminated with aflatoxin at a concentration of 220.7 ng g-1 were roasted at 250ºc for 15 minutes. roasting conditions caused a notable reduction in the aflatoxin content (up to 71%). the resulting cocoa liquors contaminated with 63.9 ng g-1 were thermal-al...

Phytophthora pathogens are responsible for some of the most serious diseases of cocoa including phytophthora pod rot (PPR) or black pod, stem canker, leaf and seedling blight, chupon wilt and flower cushion infections. PPR causes 10–30% annual losses in production of cocoa beans globally, and much higher losses locally in particularly wet and humid conditions. Stem canker causes further losses ...

Endogenous polyphenolic compounds in cacao impart both bitter and astringent characteristics to chocolate confections. While an increase in these compounds may be desirable from a health perspective, they are generally incongruent with consumer expectations. Traditionally, chocolate products undergo several processing steps (e.g., fermentation and roasting) that decrease polyphenol content, and...

Yeasts associated with cocoa and coffee beans are genetically distinct. These populations have been created through the migration and mixing of populations associated with vineyards, trees in America, and the ancestral seat of this species in Far East Asia.

Studies were conducted to establish changes in nib acidification and biochemical composition (sugars concentration, proteins and free fatty acids) during fermentation of pulp pre-conditioned cocoa beans using a 4 x 3 full factorial experimental design with pod storage (0, 3, 7 and 10 days) and fermentation time (0, 3 and 6 days) as the principal factors. Non-volatile (titratable) acidity, pH, s...

Costs of fumigating a food processing/warehouse facility using Methyl Bromide and ProFume are compared using an economic-engineering approach. The two fumigants are also compared for fumigating cocoa beans.