Background Cocoa the food of the Gods, has served the mankind from several decades. The consumption of the cocoa based products is increasing day by day. In fact, the high polyphenol content of cocoa, coupled with its widespread presence in many food items, render this food of particular interest from the nutritional and health viewpoints. The income of around 40 to 50 million people depend on cocoa farming, contributing an annual cocoa production worldwide at 4.2 million tons valued at $11.8 billion and growing at a rate of 3% per year from past decade. Scope and approach In this review the global status, market scenario and processing of the cocoa into different products has been outlined which may be helpful for the concerned communities. As per the reports the market for cocoa is growing at the rate of 18–20% in India and at 3% globally. The SWOT analysis has been carried out to identify the global strength, opportunities and threats. Key findings and conclusion Global demand for cocoa is increasing, as the world continues its insatiable appetite for chocolate products. Silent stakeholders are likely to be future targets of NGO campaigns and consumer scrutiny. Managed well through MSIs critics could enable the silent stakeholders to be encouraged into collaboration. Demand for cocoa is predicted to rise by 30% by 2020 but without empowering and investing in small-scale farmers, the industry will struggle to provide sufficient supply. Cocoa prices are volatile and influenced by many factors – from extreme weather, pests and disease to speculation and political instability in producing countries. Even as cocoa prices rise, farmers have not been capturing their fair share. Fair-trade can be part of a solution, helping to ensure decent incomes for farmers and a long-term supply of quality product to companies.

Status, supply chain and processing of cocoa - A review

Polyphenols form the largest group of compounds among natural antioxidants, which largely affect the overall antioxidant and anti-free radical activity of cocoa beans. The qualitative and quantitative composition of individual fractions of polyphenolic compounds, even within one species, is very diverse and depends on many factors, mainly on the area of cocoa trees cultivation, bean maturity, climatic conditions during growth, and the harvest season and storage time after harvest. Thermal processing of cocoa beans and cocoa derivative products at relatively high temperatures may in addition to favorable physicochemical, microbiological, and organoleptic changes result in a decrease of polyphenols concentration. Technological processing of cocoa beans negatively affects the content of polyphenolic compounds.

The Content of Polyphenolic Compounds in Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.), Depending on Variety, Growing Region, and Processing Operations: A Review

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated the beneficial effect of plant-derived food intake in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The potential bioactivity of cocoa and its polyphenolic components in modulating cardiovascular health is now being studied worldwide and continues to grow at a rapid pace. In fact, the high polyphenol content of cocoa is of particular interest from the nutritional and pharmacological viewpoints. Cocoa polyphenols are shown to possess a range of cardiovascular-protective properties, and can play a meaningful role through modulating different inflammatory markers involved in atherosclerosis. Accumulated evidence on related anti-inflammatory effects of cocoa polyphenols is summarized in the present review.

/pdf/cocoa-polyphenols-and-inflammatory-markers-of-cardiovascular-4n583mkxee.pdf

Cocoa Polyphenols and Inflammatory Markers of Cardiovascular Disease

The effect of roasting on the phenolic compounds and antioxidant potential of baru nuts [Dipteryx alata Vog.]

Cacao pod husk (CPH) is the main co-product of the chocolate industry. In the present work; a Box-Behnken design was employed to optimize the SC-CO 2 for the development of suitable and green process focused on obtaining an extract enriched in phenolic compounds from this by-product, considering temperature, pressure and co-solvent (ethanol) as factors. The response variables selected were yield, total phenolics and total antioxidant capacity (ABTS assay). Extraction pressure and ethanol percentage were the main factors influencing the yield of the target compounds. The extract obtained at the optimum conditions (60 °C, 299 bar and 13.7% of ethanol) presented 0.52% of yield, 12.97 mg GAE/g extract and, 0.213 mmol TE/g extract which were well adjusted to the ones predicted. The findings of this study showed that supercritical fluid extraction could be used as a technique to obtain an extract enriched in phenolic compounds from CPH.

Valorization of cacao pod husk through supercritical fluid extraction of phenolic compounds

Polyphenols have gained much interest recently due to its antioxidant capacity and possible benefits to human health such as anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherogenic, anti-ulcer, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory, immune modulating, anti-microbial, vasodilatory and analgesic effects. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is a rich source of polyphenols and reported having high antioxidant activity than teas and red wines. Cocoa and its derived products (cocoa powder, cocoa liquor and chocolates) contain varied polyphenol contents and possess different levels of antioxidant potentials. The polyphenols in cocoa beans contribute to about 12-18% of the dry weight of the whole bean. Main classes of polyphenolic compounds identified are such as simple phenols, benzoquinones, phenolic acids, acetophenones, phenylacetic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, phenylpropenes, coumarines, chromones, naphtoquinones, xanthones, stilbenes, anthraquinones, flavonoids, lignans and lignins. Three main groups of cocoa polyphenols can be distinguished namely the catechins (37%), anthocyanins (4%) and proanthocyanidins (58%). The main catechin is (-)-epicatechin with up to 35% of polyphenol content. Effects of processing could influence the polyphenols of cocoa and its products. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of some of the latest developments and studies reported for cocoa polyphenols and its contribution of this area for the betterment of human health.

/pdf/polyphenols-in-cocoa-theobroma-cacao-l-45xyr99n5r.pdf

Misnawi

Papers

Polyphenols in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.)