Profile of cacao cultivated in Colombia: a study based on standardized methods, indicators of quality and variety

Abstract

Several modifications have been reported for methods used to recognize varieties and the quality of cocoa during post-harvest. This situation has limited comparable and competitive profiles. For this reason, the aim of this study was to standardize the methodologies to evaluate the bromatological, and physicochemical profile of raw, fermented and dried cocoa of four clones from Colombia, in order to identify its quality during post-harvest and between varieties. Fat content: Six solvents were evaluated using Soxhlet and an alternative method assisted by Ultrasound. Total acidity: It was optimized with respect to time by using centrifugation. Antioxidant capacity: Two solvent systems were evaluated to obtain the higher recovery of cocoa extract in the determination of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity. Fermentation index: The difference among the varieties as well as raw and well-fermented cocoa was calculated by using the anthocyanins absorbance ratio. Finally, the experiments were conducted in a completely randomized design. One-way analysis of variance. Hexane was the most efficient solvent for the extraction of fat content. The use of centrifugation instead of filtration during the determination of total acidity reduced the time of analysis in 25 min. acetone:water: acetic acid (70:29.5:0.5) mixture was the best system for the extraction in the determination of the antioxidant activity. The ratio of anthocyanins <1 was an indicator of well-fermented beans and raw cocoa varieties. Proteins, fiber, anthocyanins, and phenols showed significant differences between varieties, which may be convenient to classify cocoa beans.