Evaluation of the content of bioactive compounds in cocoa beans during the fermentation process.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), one of the most important agricultural commodity products, is the key raw material for chocolate manufacturing. It is a source naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds and have been widely studied for their beneficial effects to human health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the fermentation time required to obtain more bioactive compounds and higher antioxidant activity in order to propose a mixture of unfermented and fermented cocoa beans in varying concentrations. Samples were collected every 12 h over a fermentation period of 144 h and evaluated according to their physico-chemical characteristics, as well as the content of bioactive compounds. It was verified that after 48 h of fermentation occurred a significant reduction in slate seeds, the appearance of partially fermented beans and the elevation of acidity and temperature. Until this period, a higher content of bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity was also observed. Thus, it is possible to propose a blend of cocoa beans fermented for 48 h and completely fermented beans to elaborate functional chocolates.

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in different cocoa clones (Theobroma cacao L.) developed in the southern region of Bahia, Brazil.

Brazil is the sixth largest producer of cocoa beans in the world, after Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and Cameroon. The southern region of Bahia stands out as the country's largest producer, accounting for approximately 60% of production. Due to damage caused by infestation of the cocoa crop with the fungus Moniliophthora perniciosa, which causes 'witch's broom disease', research in cocoa beans has led to the cloning of species that are resistant to the disease; however, there is little information about the development of other fungal genera in these clones, such as Aspergillus, which do not represent a phytopathogenicity problem but can grow during the pre-processing of cocoa beans and produce mycotoxins. Thus, the aim of this work was to determine the presence of aflatoxin (AF) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in cocoa clones developed in Brazil. Aflatoxin and ochratoxin A contamination were determined in 130 samples from 13 cocoa clones grown in the south of Bahia by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. The method was evaluated for limit of detection (LOD) (0.05-0.90 µg kg-1), limit of quantification (0.10-2.50 µg kg-1) and recovery (RSD) (89.40-95.80%) for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2 and OTA. Aflatoxin contamination was detected in 38% of the samples in the range of