Abstract
Chocolate contains a wide range of antioxidants that includes soluble phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, catechin, epicatechin, and proanthocyanidins), insoluble polymeric phenolics and methylxanthines. The objective of this study was to determine phenolic and theobromine contents in dark (DC), milk (MC), and white (WC) chocolates commonly found in the Malaysian marketplace. Total phenolic and flavonoids were determined by means of a spectrometric assay, while catechin, epicatechin and theobromine were quantified using a reverse-phase HPLC method. Dark chocolates exhibited the highest phenolics and flavonoids contents, followed by milk and white chocolates. Catechin and epicatechin were major flavonoids detected in dark chocolates. Theobromine was detected in dark and milk chocolates, but not in white chocolates. A high correlation (r = 0.93) between total phenolic and flavonoid contents, indicating that the major phenolic compounds in dark chocolates belong to the flavonoid class. When nutrition and health promotion are of concern, dark chocolates would be recommended over milk and white chocolates owing to their higher contents of antioxidant phenolic compounds.
Highlights
The antioxidant properties of cocoa polyphenols have generated great interest in their potential health benefits
The total phenolic content in chocolates was in the range of 116-585 mg catechin equivalent (CAE)/100 g
Dark chocolate exhibited the highest phenolic content followed by milk and white chocolates
Summary
The antioxidant properties of cocoa polyphenols have generated great interest in their potential health benefits. Epidemiological studies have shown that polyphenols may help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases [1,2]. Previous in-vivo studies revealed that cocoa products may have the potential to decrease the risk of degenerative diseases [3,4,5,6]. Cocoa contains a wide range of antioxidants, which includes soluble phenolic compounds and insoluble polymeric phenolics [9]. Cocoa contains significant amount of procyanidin monomers, namely catechin, epicatechin and dimer to tetradecamer [11,12,13,14,15,16]
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