Chemical, technological and in vitro antioxidant properties of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) co-products

Abstract

The aim of this work was to determine the chemical, technological and in vitro antioxidant properties of cocoa co-products such as cocoa pod husks, cocoa bean shell and cocoa mucilage to determine the potential used as a dietary fiber source for food enrichment. The proximate composition and total (TDF), insoluble (IDF) and soluble dietary fiber (SDF) content were determined. The water holding, oil holding and swelling capacities and total phenol content (TPC) were also determined. For the antioxidant activity, three different analytical assays were used (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP). The cocoa co-products dietary fiber obtained in this study ranged between 16.86 and 55.59g/100g. The TPC of cocoa pod husk ranging between 206.67 and 365.33mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100g sample, depending the locality and solvent system used while in as regards to cocoa bean shell and cocoa mucilage the TPC levels were significantly lower (80.17–144.83mg GAE/100g and 102.00–182.63mg GAE/100g respectively). All samples analyzed showed a good antioxidant capacity in the three different methods used with values ranging between from 2.48 to 22.93μM Trolox Equivalents (TEs)/g in ABTS assay; 1.57–33.93μM TEs/g in DPPH assay and 0.67 and 4.69μM TEs/g sample in FRAP assay. The results of this study indicate that cocoa co-products may be considered a good source of natural compounds with significant antioxidant activity.