Chemical and flavor profile changes of cocoa beans (Theobroma cacaoL.) during primary fermentation

Abstract

This survey reports for the first time the changed of quality of fermented cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) beans. The quality evaluation and simultaneous detection of amino acids, flavor, procyanidin, color, fat, protein, antioxidant activity, and enthalpy were obtained for different fermentation stages of cocoa beans. The results showed that total essential amino acids contents ranged from 2.64 g/100 g to 3.68 g/100 g. A total of 88 compounds identified at the end of the fermentation belonged to alcohols, acids, esters, ketones, pyrazines, aldehydes, and terpenoids. One of the chemical groups that were present in highest abundance in the consummation treatments was acids, representing 56.04% of the total extracted area, followed by alcohols (22.95%) and ketones (9.40%). The colors of the beans in different fermentation stages were different, from deep purple to deep red‐brown. Fermented cocoa beans were shown to be 53.45% and 13.51% bean butter and protein content, respectively. The value of denaturation enthalpy (ΔH) ranged from 30.4 (J/g) to 43.38 (J/g). The 3‐day fermented sample had the highest ΔH (43.38 J/g). When the fermentation process was complete, the procyanidin concentration of the beans decreased, with the final yield of procyanidin at 6.2%. During fermentation, the antioxidant capacity of beans gradually reduced. The fermenting of cocoa beans had a significant effect on the quality formation. The findings of this study constitute a basis for further investigations on the quality formation of cocoa during fermentation.

Screening Wild Yeast Isolated from Cocoa Bean Fermentation Using Volatile Compounds Profile

“…The compound 2-phenyl ethanol is produced by yeasts using two routes: converting L-phenylalanine (L-Phe) via the Ehrlich pathway or by de novo synthesis from sugars [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. According to Fang Y. et al 2020, alcohols and acids produced by microorganisms during cocoa bean fermentation penetrate the cacao bean and start the chemical reactions that will form the precursor of chocolate’s flavor [ 11 ]. Additionally, the alcohols profile is desirable during cocoa fermentation because they are odor-active compounds that denote floral notes.…”

“…Esters are key compounds in the development of desirable flavors [ 9 , 11 ]. The most abundant compounds found in the esters family were 3-methyl butyl acetate (317.1846 mg/kg), 2-phenyl ethyl acetate (276.7966 mg/kg), and ethyl acetate (102.0740 mg/kg).…”

“…Production of fine or flavor cocoa is influenced by many factors related to the harvest and post-harvest processes, such as genotype, agroclimatic and edaphoclimatic conditions, fermentation, drying, and roasting [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], resulting in a product with variable quality and flavor heterogeneous characteristics. To improve cocoa beans’ sensorial quality from harvest to harvest, one of the main strategies employed is to standardize the cocoa bean fermentation processes using starter cultures.…”

Ribes himalense as potential source of natural bioactive compounds: Nutritional, phytochemical, and antioxidant properties

“…Procyanidin and vanillin were purchased from Shanghai Chunyou Biotechnology Co. (Shanghai, China). The content of procyanidin in the extract solution was determined using the standard vanillin‐Hydrochloric acid method (Fang et al., 2020). Vanillin/methanol solution (4 g/100 ml) of 3 ml and concentrated HCl of 1.5 ml were added to 1 ml of the extract solution in a 25 ml tube with plug (out of light), mixed well.…”

Antioxidants and total polyphenols of a black chocolate whit incorporation of unroasted cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.)

“…Es sabido que el cacao es una fuente de antioxidantes y polifenoles en general, contiene entre 4 y 6% de estas sustancias, entre las que destacan los flavonoides (Urbańska & Kowalska, 2019) como la epicatequina, catequina y procianidina (Cárdenas-Mazon et al, 2018). Su composición depende directamente de la variedad y lugar de procedencia; sin embargo, otros factores como la fermentación y el secado del grano, generan la perdida de hasta un 70% de estas sustancias (Fang et al, 2020;Kumari et al, 2018). Teniendo en cuenta que para obtener el chocolate, los granos de cacao fermentado seco, son tostados a elevadas temperaturas, para desarrollar los compuestos aromáticos y sensoriales característicos de este alimento a través de la reacción de Maillard (Aydın et al, 2021) y, que los compuestos fenólicos antioxidantes se deterioran con el procesamiento, se ha evidenciado que afecta negativamente a las propiedades funcionales de cacao; es en esta etapa en donde se pierde la mayor cantidad de antioxidantes y polifenoles, debido a la exposición a temperaturas que oscilan entre los 110 y 160 °C (Di Mattia et al, 2017;Urbańska & Kowalska, 2019).…”