Abstract
The aim of this work is to characterize the geographical origin of cocoa beans and coffee beans. This study aims to contribute to the traceability of raw materials in order to fight against falsification. For this purpose, we based our work on the measurement of isotope ratios in 13C, 15N and 18O. The multi-element isotope ratios have been evaluated as a means to distinguish fermented cocoa beans of different geographic and varietal origins. The isotopic ratios of 13C, 15N and 18O were measured in theobromine obtained from samples of fermented cocoa beans. Twenty-two (22) samples of different geographical origins covering the four mainland cocoa producing areas were analyzed on the one hand and on the other hand, 16 caffeine samples from various origins were also analyzed. The treatment of the values resulting from these isotopic analyzes by statistical methods, namely the principal component analysis (PCA) makes it possible to visualize the discriminations between the different origins. The most discriminating variables identified as responsible for the geographic and varietal differences were the δ15N, δ13C and δ18O values of cocoa beans and certain extracts and tissues. We have shown that the isotope ratios are correlated with the altitude and precipitation conditions encountered in the different cocoa growing regions.
Highlights
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao L.) is a tropical perennial plant belonging to the Sterculiaceae family
Most publications in the field of cocoa traceability have mainly focused on analyzing the chemical composition of processed cocoa beans (Crews, 2002; Oracz, Zyzelewicz, & Nebesny, 2013) by several methods, including infrared and NMR spectroscopy the chemical composition depends on the type of bean, the variety, the quality of fermentation and drying
This study has shown that the isotopic signatures of nitrogen, carbon and oxygen obtained from theobromine obtained from cocoa beans of various geographical origins can be exploited to characterize their geographical origins
Summary
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao L.) is a tropical perennial plant belonging to the Sterculiaceae family. Most publications in the field of cocoa traceability have mainly focused on analyzing the chemical composition of processed cocoa beans (Crews, 2002; Oracz, Zyzelewicz, & Nebesny, 2013) by several methods, including infrared and NMR spectroscopy (Caligiani, Acquotti, Cirlini, & Palla, 2010; Caligiani, Palla, Acquotti, Marseglia and Palla, 2014), HPLC (Oracz et al, 2013) and mass spectrometry (Crews, 2002; Oracz and al., 2013) These different studies have shown that it is possible to differentiate the 3 varieties of cocoa (Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario) and to distinguish 3 cultivation zones in Côte d’Ivoire (Aboisso, Daloa and Divo), in particular on the basis of the caffeine and theobromine content.
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