Monitoring and Optimization of Cupuaçu Seed Fermentation, Drying and Storage Processes

Abstract

Cupuaçu [Theobroma grandiflorum (Wild ex Spreng.) K. Schum] seeds have been employed for a long time in the Amazon region for food purposes. Similar to cocoa, processed cupuaçu pulp and seeds can be used to produce juices, ice creams, confectionary products and cupulate®, which is a similar product to chocolate. However, its market penetration requires the mastery of all processing stages to improve the food quality and safety and to make possible an efficient technology transfer to the local small farmers and communities. Based on the above, the current research work aimed at monitoring and optimizing the consecutive fermentation and drying processes of cupuaçu seeds over 7 days each, as well as storage for 90 days. A greenhouse structure incorporating the fermenter and solar drying terrace was designed to be inexpensive, versatile, easily scalable, and easy to maintain and operate by the local small farmers after a short period of training. This research effort also aimed at giving a vision for the future creation of an integrative and sustainable cupuaçu system covering the economic, social, cultural and environmental vectors. The experimental design comprised 5 batches of 100 kg of seeds each. Several microbiological and physicochemical parameters were performed and correlated with processing variables. Microbiological parameters encompassed viable counts of mesophilic microorganisms, coliforms, yeasts, and molds, whereas physicochemical measures included fermentation and drying temperature, pH, acidity, dry matter, ashes, water activity, color, total proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, and energy. The average seed fermentation temperature varied from ca. 28 to 44 °C, reaching the maximum on day 3 and a final value of ca. 31 °C. Regarding solar drying, the average seed temperatures ranged from ca. 24 °C (at the end) to 39 °C on day 3, and an initial value of ca. 29 °C. The average final seed pH value of drying was 5.34 and was kept during storage. During storage, results demonstrated the existence of significant correlations among several experimental parameters under scrutiny. Finally, bean viable counts obtained during storage unfolded acceptable values of total mesophilic bacteria well below the maximum limit. Viable counts of yeast and molds were generally found between 3 and 4 log(CFU/gsample), and total coliforms were also detected, although both were at acceptable levels and well beneath the established maximum limits for food safety.

Skin Regenerative Potential of Cupuaçu Seed Extract (Theobroma grandiflorum), a Native Fruit from the Amazon: Development of a Topical Formulation Based on Chitosan-Coated Nanocapsules

“…K. Schum) presents a taxonomic relationship with cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) and is one the most popular native fruits cultivated in the Brazilian Amazon region. The fruit pulp is used in a wide variety of food products, holding considerable economic importance for the Brazilian state of Pará, the largest producer and exporter [1]. The fruit's almond, i.e., the Cupuaçu seed, represents about 30-45% of the fruit's weight and is mainly discarded as industrial waste [2].…”

Effects of post-harvest natural drying on seed quality and endogenous hormones of Camellia oleifera

“…Effects of post-harvest natural drying on oil content and quality in C. oleifera seeds For oil crops, the accumulation of seed storage materials began to tilt in the direction of oil during post ripening, and post-harvest natural drying will promote this transformation (Borisjuk et al, 2004;Cao et al, 2015;Eliášová et al, 2022;Hernández-Clemente et al, 2019;Xu et al, 2020). The total oil content increased during the drying of Cupuaçu seeds (Souza et al, 2020). In this study, the accumulation of oil was closely related to the increase of drying time and reached the peak value after 30 d of post-harvest natural drying.…”

Functional chocolate: exploring advances in production and health benefits

“…The main commercial categories of chocolate are milk, dark and white chocolate, which are manufactured using different proportions of ingredient in chocolate production (Rawel et al ., 2019; Jovanović et al ., 2022). Moreover, other seeds may be found to produce chocolate‐like products using similar processes as cocoa, for example, the cupuacu seeds (Souza et al ., 2020).…”