Abstract
Microbial communities are responsible for the unique functional properties of chocolate. During microbial growth, several antimicrobial and antioxidant metabolites are produced and can influence human wellbeing. In the last decades, the use of starter cultures in cocoa fermentation has been pushed to improve nutritional value, quality, and the overall product safety. However, it must be noted that unpredictable changes in cocoa flavor have been reported between the different strains from the same species used as a starter, causing a loss of desirable notes and flavors. Thus, the importance of an accurate selection of the starter cultures based on the biogenic effect to complement and optimize chocolate quality has become a major interest for the chocolate industry. This paper aimed to review the microbial communities identified from spontaneous cocoa fermentations and focused on the yeast starter strains used in cocoa beans and their sensorial and flavor profile. The potential compounds that could have health-promoting benefits like limonene, benzaldehyde, 2-phenylethanol, 2-methylbutanal, phenylacetaldehyde, and 2-phenylethyl acetate were also evaluated as their presence remained constant after roasting. Further research is needed to highlight the future perspectives of microbial volatile compounds as biomarkers to warrant food quality and safety.
Highlights
People have been changing their food consumption patterns and lifestyle over the last decade [1]
Coffee and sour attributes with a worse acceptance were described from the chocolate produced in Brazil inoculated with a mixture of three yeast starters (S. cerevisiae, P. kluyveri, and H. uvarum) during cocoa fermentation [30]
Despite the development of Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in inoculated cocoa fermentations, the volatilome profile of chocolate produced from cocoa beans originated from Brazil and Malaysia, inoculated with S. cerevisiae and T. delbrueckii, and a mixed culture of these two yeasts at the beginning of the fermentation has been assessed (Table 1) [31,34,38]
Summary
People have been changing their food consumption patterns and lifestyle over the last decade [1]. The objective of a successful functional food is to target a specific group of consumers and to meet their health demands without compromising flavor, taste, and color In this context, the most used bioactive compounds in the food industry include alkaloids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavonoids, glucosinolates, isoflavones, phenolic acids, hydrolysate proteins, tannins, and phytochemical terpenes [2]. An effective cocoa fermentation develops when a correct microbial succession of microbial succession of yeasts, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) takes place yeasts, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) takes place [5,6]. The modulation of the remarkable the modulation of the remarkable complexity of microbial communities in cocoa beans to obtain an complexity of microbial communities in cocoa beans to obtain an optimal flavor fingerprinting as well optimal flavor fingerprinting as well as understanding the metabolic and regulatory networks as understanding the metabolic and metabolites regulatory networks concerning the context, production secondary concerning the production of secondary are still not clear.
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
