Aroma Properties of Cocoa Fruit Pulp from Different Origins.

Thomas Bickel Haase,Ute Schweiggert-Weisz,Holger Zorn,Susanne Naumann,Eva Ortner

doi:10.3390/molecules26247618

Abstract

Cocoa pulp occurs as a by-product of cocoa bean production and can be repurposed to different food applications, such as jams, fruit preparations and beverages, improving the sustainability of cocoa production, as well as the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. In this work, aroma-active compounds of fresh cocoa fruit pulps from different origins were investigated by applying aroma extract dilution analyses in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry for identification. In total, 65 aroma-active compounds were determined in four different pulps originating from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cameroon, and Nicaragua. Vietnamese pulp showed the highest number of aroma-active regions, while Cameroonian pulp accounted for the lowest. Moreover, Cameroonian cocoa pulp showed the lowest FD factors. Overall, the odorants with the highest FD factors were trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-decenal, 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid, 3-(methylthio)propanal, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, 4-vinyl-2-methoxyphenol, δ-decalactone, 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethylfuran-2(5H)-one, dodecanoic acid, and linalool. This study provides insights into the aroma composition of fresh cocoa pulp from different origins for future food applications.

Highlights

The International Cocoa Organization [1] forecasted for 2020/2021 a production of over 4.8 million tons of cocoa beans mainly destined for the chocolate industry
The aroma-active volatile compounds responsible for the aroma impression of cocoa pulps originating from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cameroon, and Nicaragua were isolated by extraction with dichloromethane (DCM) and separated from non-volatiles lipids using the solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE)-distillation technique (c.f. 3.2)
The comparative aroma extract dilution analysis (cAEDA) revealed a total of 65 aroma-active regions with an flavor dilution (FD) factor range of 2 to 1024 (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

The International Cocoa Organization [1] forecasted for 2020/2021 a production of over 4.8 million tons of cocoa beans mainly destined for the chocolate industry. Taking into account the by-products of the cocoa bean processing chain, which represent together about 70–80% of the dry weight of the fruit and comprise the cocoa pod husk, the bean shells, and the pulp [2]; approximately 19 million tons of residual biomass will be produced. Cocoa pulp is a moist white fibrous layer that covers the fresh cocoa beans. Previous reports suggest that a fraction of the pulp can be separated from the fresh cocoa beans without having a negative effect on the later fermentation of the beans [9,10]

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Conclusion