Nutritional value and antioxidant capacity of "cocoa honey" (Theobroma cacao L.)

Abstract

Cocoa honey is considered as the liquid portion of cocoa pulp that is released from the fruit soon after it is cut open and can be used before fermentation by simple extraction due to its nutritional characteristics. The objective of the present study is to determine the biochemical characteristics of a cocoa by-product, "cocoa honey" (CH), produced in the State of Bahia-Brazil. The biochemical characterization was conducted to determine reducing sugars, total sugars, vitamin C, total dietary fiber, flavonoids, and total antioxidant activity using an EC 50 . It was observed that cocoa honey can be considered a source of bioactive compounds, can be consumed in natura or processed, and used as an ingredient in the chocolate industry and in other food products. However, it is necessary to use complementary methods, such as HPLC, to quantify the phenolic compounds of this by-product.

Cocoa’s Residual Honey: Physicochemical Characterization and Potential as a Fermentative Substrate by Saccharomyces cerevisiae AWRI726

“…Approximately 85% of the dry matter of cocoa's residual honey is represented by carbohydrates (Table 1). The concentration of free sugars is a function of the cultivar and the age of the fruit, with unripe pods containing higher proportions of sucrose and ripe pods containing mainly fructose and glucose [5]. The levels of glucose and fructose quantified by HPLC (Table 1) were 4.58±0.12 g.100 mL −1 and 3.25±0.03 g.100 mL −1 , respectively (y glucose = 3.10 7 x + 13277, R 2 = 0.9902; y fructose = 6.10 7 x – 12950, R 2 = 0.9992).…”

“…Agroindustry biomasses have been used as raw materials for a variety of bioprocesses via fermentation by S. cerevisiae , and they present great potential for the production of beverages [9–11, 15]. An additional advantage of beverages developed with cocoa's residual honey is the possibility of retaining high levels of total flavonoids (7.19±0.01 μ g.mL –1 ), vitamin C (10.90±0.15 mg.100 mL –1 ), and antioxidant activity (EC50 DPPH= 64.74 μ g.mL –1 ), as related by Silva et al [5].…”

“…Cocoa's residual honey is an opaque yellow mucilaginous liquid that is separated from the pulp enveloping the cocoa grains by simple extraction before fermentation commences. This liquid has a sweet-sour flavor; a high content of reducing sugar; and a significant amount of dietary fiber, flavonoids, and vitamin C and can be considered a natural source of bioactive phenolic compounds with considerable antioxidant activity [5]. The development of new methods for processing this waste and innovative uses for this byproduct is necessary to minimize production losses, generate more profits, and promote the sustainable use of biomes.…”

The Change of Characteristics and Antioxidant Activity of Cocoa Vinegar During Fermentation of Pulp Liquids by Adding <i>Tape</i> Yeast

“…Pulp liquid could actually be used to make a fermented beverage, such as acetic acid [9], cocoa wine [10], and a new cocoa-based kefir drink [11]. Vinegar cocoa produced from liquid pulp also contains bioactive phenolic compounds [12], so it can give positive functional effects that are beneficial to health.…”

Comparative effects of plant growth promoters and earthworms (Millsonia anomala) on rooting of cocoa orthotropic cuttings

“…Cocoa is the essential ingredient for chocolate and the role as the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of T. cacao leaf, bark, husk, unfermented and fermented shell, pith, root, and cherelle methanolic extracts were well screened (Baharum et al, 2014;Da Silva et al, 2014).…”