Os compostos fenólicos têm sido muito estudados devido a sua influência na qualidade dos alimentos. Englobam uma gama enorme de substâncias, entre elas os ácidos fenólicos, os quais, por sua constituição química, possuem propriedades antioxidantes. Assim, a presente revisão procura reunir diversos estudos que avaliaram o potencial antioxidante dos ácidos fenólicos na conservação de alimentos lipídicos. Além disso, são reunidos também estudos sobre a ação antioxidante destes compostos no sistema biológico através da neutralização dos radicais livres gerados no organismo, que estão associados a diversas doenças como câncer e doenças cardiovasculares.

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The objective of the present study was to characterize the physicochemical composition and to quantify the fatty acids of chocolates produced from different cocoa varieties (Theobroma cacao L.) cultivated in the Southern Region of Bahia. Nine samples of monovarietal chocolates were evaluated, according to their physical, thermal and fatty acid profile. The results were subjected to tests of variance and multivariate statistics. The chocolates PH16 and TSH1188 presented higher melting point. Ot was possible to identify a linear correlation between the fat content of the chocolates and the break force parameter. The chocolates showed higher concentration of saturated fatty acids, mainly palmitic acid (16:0) and stearic acid (18:0), followed by the unsaturated fatty acids among which oleic acid (18:1n-9) and linoleic acid (18:6) were predominant. The principal component analysis allowed to discriminate the different varieties of chocolate according to the profile of fatty acids. The thermogravimetric analysis of the samples showed a similar profile. The differences found in the samples of chocolates were attributed to factors such as the fruit maturation process, the cocoa variety and to which they were subjected during processing. Practical Application:The study show differences in chocolates obtained with nine cocoa cultivars produced in southern Bahia, being a source of information to characterize and improve the quality of monovarietal chocolates.