Abstract
Cocoa and cocoa products have broad and well-proven health benefits, most of which are associated with the high antioxidant capacity of cocoa flavonoids. Most extraction methods for flavonoids in cocoa products use several steps including a defatting step and large amount of organic solvents. Moreover, they are labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this work, a pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) method has been compared to conventional sonication extraction (CSE) method. The contribution of individual compounds to the total antioxidant capacity of the extracts was evaluated by developing an analytical technique consisting of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array coupled to electrochemical and to charged aerosol detectors and HPLC-mass spectrometry for the confirmation of the identity of compounds present. Additionally, procyanidins were analyzed by fluorescence detection. PHWE turned out to be more efficient in extracting phenolics and methylxanthines, as compared to the conventional method, in addition to being more “green” in terms of using less organic solvents.
Highlights
The extracts obtained by conventional sonication extraction (CSE) and pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) from cocoa and cocoa products were fully characterized by Folin-Ciocalteu assay, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-DAD-CADECD, HPLC-QTOF/mass spectrometry detector (MS), and HPLC-FLD methods
PHWE method was more efficient in extracting phenolic compounds and methylxanthines from cocoa and cocoa products as compared to CSE method
The differences between both extraction methods were higher in the procyanidin group for all the tested samples and significantly higher for the cocoas (A and B) and nibs samples
Summary
The polyphenol content in cocoa beans depends on their origin and processing, as they are subject to a combination of fermentation and drying treatments, followed by alkalisation and roasting, which affects the polyphenol content and the end product quality (Hii et al 2009). Methods (2017) 10:2677–2691 the content of polyphenols in chocolate, which is the most commonly consumed cocoa product, is lower (Adamson et al 1999). This is because chocolate contains processed cocoa beans and added sugars, milk, solids, and cocoa butter. The conditions during cocoa bean processing and chocolate making may result in polyphenol degradation (Wollgast and Anklam 2000)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
