No abstract

The profile of reducing sugars developed during each stage of the postharvest of cocoa beans is an important quality index; these sugars are found to be one of the main precursors of flavor and neoformed compounds. However, its quantification after extraction from different parts of the bean is a challenge due to the complexity of the matrix. The primary aim of this study was to track the formation of reducing sugars and mannitol in samples obtained from various steps of the fermentation and drying processes of cocoa beans by validating a rapid matrix-corrected chromatographic method utilizing a corona-charged aerosol detector for improved sensitivity. The analytes were extracted from ground cocoa beans by solid phase extraction without a defatting step (20 mg raw fermented and 10 mg dried). The experimental variables influencing the effective detection were evaluated at different temperatures and signal filtering levels. Method validation studies showed an average recovery between 77.8 and 120% for fermented cocoa and between 79.6 and 117.7% for dried cocoa. A linear response was achieved for fructose, glucose, sucrose, and mannitol for a concentration range of 0.1-40 mg/L, and maltose showed linearity in the range of 0.1-70 mg/L. Regression coefficients (R) were 0.9991, 0.9993, 0.9992, 0.9995 and 0.9994, respectively. This method was successfully applied to a clone mix of cocoa from Antioquia, Colombia, to confirm the hydrolysis reaction of sucrose into glucose and fructose during fermentation and drying. A quality indicator of an efficient postharvest process in this study was determined to be a glucose percentage of 0.66% w/w and a fructose percentage of 1.46% w/w, which were higher than the values reported by other studies.

The aim of this study was to compare the quality of a mixture of cocoa harvested and fermented in three subregions of Antioquia (Colombia), from the chemometric profile based on multivariate statistical analysis. A mixture of clones CCN-52, ICS-1, FLE-2, and FEC-2 harvested in Bajo Cauca, Uraba and Magdalena Medio were subjected to a spontaneous fermentation. The characterization of raw and well-fermented cocoa was performed through 38 parameters, and results were compared by a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Cluster Analysis (CA), followed by a Principal Factors Analysis (PFA- CA). The CA showed that there are differences among subregions only in raw cocoa from Bajo Cauca. PCA allowed identifying the variability between raw and fermented cocoa in a representative way and these results were consistent with the chemical profile. Besides, the number of parameters to differentiate raw cocoa from different subregions was reduced (11–13 parameters) and it was possible to characterize well fermented cocoa with only 10 parameters of 38. PFA-CA consolidated in three factors a grouping to identify the cocoa quality according to the process or interest of the sensory or functional properties. Factor 1 (cocoa quality indicators with functional properties), Factor 2 (indicators of quality of the beginning of fermentation) and Factor 3 (indicators of quality of well-fermented cocoa) each one with a weight of 39, 35 and 26 respectively.

Banana passion fruit (P. tripartita var. Mollissima) is one of the most promising tropical fruits giving its antioxidant activity (AOA) to replace synthetic additives. Despite this property, there are no studies about the metabolites responsible for its biological function or proposals for the application of technologies, such as microencapsulation by spray drying, to improve its properties and ease its incorporation in several food matrices. The aim of this study is to microencapsulate the pulp of banana passion fruit with several mixtures of encapsulants and identify which one of these mixtures is better to preserve its AOA. The antioxidant activity values for the banana passion fruit pulp were as follows: DPPH: 6630.2 ± 91 μMtrolox/100g; ABTS: 18764.3 ± 270.4 μMtrolox/100g; FRAP: 1703.6± 938.2 mgAA/100g, ORAC: 8105.4 ± 424.2 µmol TEAC/100g of sample; Total phenols: 8862.2 ± 451.4 gallic ac. mg/100g. The concentrations of the bioactive compounds expressed in mg of gallic acid per 100 g of the pulp on a dry base were 13.9 ± 0.004; 5.9 ± 0.001 and 126.3 ± 0.004 for caffeic, p-coumaric and ferulic acids, respectively. The best shelf-life followed by ABTS in eight assays was between 28.8 and 31.5 weeks using maltodextrin and modified starch, MD:MS (1/4:3/4) and MD:MS (0:1), respectively. In conclusion, ABTS is the best method to measure the AOA in banana passion fruit because it correlated with the phenolic compounds better than DPPH and FRAP methods. Additionally, two options were found to protect the AOA and to extent the shelf-life of the passion fruit by spray-drying, with mixtures of encapsulants widely used in the food industry.

Noncommunicable diseases, the leading cause of mortality around the world, are responsible for approximately 75% of premature adult deaths (ages 30–69). To tackle this issue, a healthy diet based on functional foods, including cocoa and its derivatives, has been increasingly promoted. The polyphenols present in cocoa have been of interest due to their antioxidant potential and their possible protective role in the context of noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. However, during cocoa postharvest and industrialization, the concentration of these bioactive compounds is reduced, possibly affecting their health-promoting properties. Therefore, this paper reviews in the literature in this field to find the total polyphenol content in cocoa during the postharvest and industrialization processes in order to define concentration ranges as a reference point for future research. In addition, it discusses in vitro and in vivo studies into the biological antioxidant potential of cocoa and its derivatives. This review covers publications in indexed databases from 2010 to 2020, their data were processed and presented here using box plots. As a result, we identified the concentration ranges of polyphenols depending on the type of matrix, treatment and country, as well as their relationship with the main bioactive compounds present in cocoa that are associated with their possible antioxidant biological potential and health-related benefits.

A B S T R A C TThe aim of this work was to determine the effect of temperature on the formation of acrylamide in cocoa beans during drying treatment by an experimental and computational study, in order to assess the presence of this neoformed compound from postharvest stage. The computational study was conducted on the reaction between fructose, glyoxal from glucose, and on asparagine at the M06-2X/6-31þG(d,p) level, under cocoa bean drying conditions at 323.15 to 343.15 K. The proposed reaction for acrylamide formation consisted of seven steps, which required to progress a via cyclic transition state of the four members. In addition, step III (decarboxylation) was considered to be the rate-determining step. Glucose followed an E1-like elimination and fructose exhibited an E1cb-like elimination. Computational model showed that the reaction of acrylamide formation was favored by fructose rather than glucose.The content of reducing sugars, asparagine and acrylamide in fermented and dried cocoa from two subregions of Antioquia-Colombia, as well as roasted cocoa, were evaluated by UHPLC-C-CAD and UHPLC-QqQ. The concentrations of monosaccharides measured at the end of the fermentation and drying process of cocoa nibs showed greater decreases in the levels of fructose as compared to glucose, supporting the main model hypothesis. Acrylamide formation only occurred in Bajo Cauca due to the presence of both precursors and fast drying time (72 h). Finally, it was possible to find the conditions to which acrylamide can be formed from the drying process and not only from roasting, information that can be used for future control strategies.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao), in all its presentations, is consumed all over the world and is one of the main drivers of the economic in several countries. The world's Cocoa tendency is focused on developing special beans. This category is subject to postharvest processes of utmost importance such as the fermentation and dry, which are currently carried out with traditional and poorly effective devices, which need to be improved to obtain a high quality product. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the pectin lyase enzyme (E.C.4.2.2.10) on the postharvest cocoa process. We evaluated the enzyme dosage (1.0% and 0.5%) in fermentation and its effect on the variables temperature, acidity and drying time by convection at 60˚C. The Pectin lyase activity during fermentation does not cause a significant effect on the variables of temperature and acidity; however, the drying process time required to achieve 7.0% moisture was reduced. The enzyme dosage of 1.0% was the best result, the amount of exudate obtained (115 ml) during fermentation and the best degree of fermentation (77% ± 3.8) were increased and further shows a change in porosity facilitating the scale surface and internal moisture diffusion. The drying rate (Nw) expressed in kgwater/m 2 * min was determined based on the empirical model of Newton, where the higher speed was obtained during the falling period. In conclusion, enzyme dosage 1% was the best concentration evaluated because weaken grain husk, which allowed an adequate fermentation,

La microencapsulación mediante secado por aspersión es una técnica ampliamente empleada en la protección de compuestos bioactivos, en especial sobre los polifenoles en diferentes matrices; además, es una de las técnicas más sencillas y económicas de secado, lo cual ha favorecido su transferencia tecnológica a escala industrial. Por esta razón, este artículo tiene como propósito analizar, a partir de estudios previamente reportados, los parámetros de operación empleados en la implementación de los métodos para la microencapsulación de compuestos bioactivos presentes en diversas matrices, con el fin de identificar las condiciones efectivas para futuras aplicaciones. La revisión de los estudios publicados se realizó en un período comprendido entre 2010 y 2021 en bases de datos indexadas, donde los parámetros evaluados se centraron en: las condiciones de operación, materiales encapsulantes, morfología de las microcápsulas y la eficiencia de la microencapsulación. Los resultados permitieron identificar los parámetros más críticos, entre los que sobresalen la temperatura de entrada y salida del aire, así como los materiales encapsulantes, los cuales influyen directamente en la protección de los polifenoles, que son en su mayoría termolábiles, de esta manera, se pudo constatar en los estudios revisados el alcance de una mayor eficiencia y vida útil con respecto a las propiedades funcionales, al optimizar las condiciones de operación mencionada, y se constata que los resultados reportados conllevan a la obtención de microcápsulas de matrices que pueden ser empleadas como materia prima y producto final de mayor calidad, o para estudios in vitro de liberación controlada para la industria alimentaria, farmacéutica o cosmética.