Chocolate as Carrier to Deliver Bioactive Ingredients: Current Advances and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Consumer demand for healthier foods with improved taste and convenience has urged the food industry to develop functional foods added with bioactive ingredients that can supplement basic nutrition (food supplement) or exert a pharmacological effect (nutraceuticals). Chocolate could be used as an ideal carrier to deliver bioactive ingredients, mainly due to its high acceptability by consumers. However, a drawback of using chocolate as functional food is its high sugar content, which impedes its commercialization with the diabetic population. Therefore, there is need to develop sugar-free chocolate formulations added with bioactive ingredients. Nevertheless, sugar replacement and bioactive ingredients addition is a major technological challenge that affects texture, rheology, and sensory properties of chocolate. This review is designed as a practical guide for researchers and food industries to develop the next generation of functional chocolates. Different functional chocolate formulations, including sugar-free, are reviewed as potential carriers for the delivery of bioactive compounds. The physicochemical properties and sensory acceptability of the functional chocolates presented are also highlighted. Finally, future perspectives, such as the use of nanotechnology to improve the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of active ingredients, as well as the need for clinical trials to validate the pharmacological effect of functional chocolates, are also discussed.

Physicochemical, Nutritional, Microstructural, Surface and Sensory Properties of a Model High-Protein Bars Intended for Athletes Depending on the Type of Protein and Syrup Used

“…Considering the high-protein products available on the store shelves, they are often coated in chocolate. It should be remembered that mainly dark chocolates (with a high cocoa mass content) have the ability to mask the aftertaste of proteins, so it can be assumed that pouring the tests in chocolate would increase the ratings of each high-protein product [ 41 , 42 ].…”

Biopreservation of Chocolate Mousse with Lactobacillus helveticus 2/20: Microbial Challenge Test

“…LAB have been successfully applied either as living cells or their metabolic products (mainly bacteriocins and bacteriocin-like substances) as part of successful strategies for biopreservation of different food products such as meat products [ 16 , 17 ], seafood [ 18 ], vegetables [ 19 ], bread and bakery products [ 20 ], chocolate [ 21 ], etc. Every food matrix presents a number of challenges in the development of successful biopreservation strategies.…”

“…Furthermore, micro-encapsulated probiotics demonstrated higher bacterial viability than probiotics added as freeze-dried powder, clearly suggesting that it would be relevant to perform microencapsulation prior to LAB addition to chocolate formulations. In addition to the nutraceutical properties of the added probiotic strains, they also serve as successful biopreservation agents of food products, thus actually exerting a dual positive effect [ 21 ].…”

Studies on Proximate Composition, Mineral and Total Phenolic Content of Yogurt Bites Enriched with Different Plant Raw Material

“…With the intense development of the food industry, a lot of products of the ready-to-eat type are being produced for the customer and the amount of such produced food products is increasing rapidly. People that are interested in healthy and functional food enriched with additional vitamins, minerals, bioactive ingredients and probiotic bacteria grows each year [1]. Such products are gaining more widespread popularity and acceptance throughout the developed world.…”

“…1 Different letters in the same line represent significant differences between samples (p < 0.05). Control-yogurt bites without plant raw materials, YBB-yogurt bites with 1% beetroot powder, YBM-yogurt bites with 1% mulberry leaves powder, YBN-yogurt bites with 1% nettle leaves powder, YBR-yogurt bites with 1% rosehip fruit powder.…”