Antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content and methylxantine ratio in four materials of Theobroma cacao L. from Tolima, Colombia.

The International Cocoa Organization recognized Colombian cocoa as "fine aroma," but in recent years, clone CCN 51 has grown in popularity, widely due to its high yield. The Tolima department is the fourth producer of cacao in Colombia, but there is a lack of knowledge of the chemical properties of regional cocoa genotypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological, antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content and the methylxanthines ratio of four regional genotypes (UTLP02, UTVE01, UTGC01 and UTLM02) of Theobroma cacao L. from Tolima, Colombia. The universal clone of CCN51 was used as control. The highest values for the qualitative descriptors were obtained by the variants UTVE01 and CCN51 with FRAP and TPC ranging from 44.51 ± 0.90 to 106.77 ± 5.21 mg GAE/g and 27.13 ± 0.14 to 52.12 ± 4.71 mmol TE/g respectively. The genotypes with the highest values for FRAP and TPC were UTGC01 and CCN51. According to the methylxanthine ratio, UTVE01 was classified as Criollo, while UTLM02, UTGC01 and UTLP02, CCN51 are Trinitario and Forastero, respectively. Although CCN51 is considered a remarkable material in terms of productivity, the genotypes evaluated present good yields and interesting values of TPC and antioxidant activity, making them promising trees in local breeding programs.

Introducing Lipophilicity to (Polyhydroxyalkyl)thiazolidine Carboxylic Acids Via Acylation.

The therapeutic efficacy of bioactive compounds is related to their bioavailability. In turn, the bioavailability depends on the equilibrium between the hydrophilicity and the lipophilicity. 2(R,S)-(Polyhydroxyalkyl)thiazolidine-4(R) carboxylic acids (TCAs), obtained from the condensation of l-cysteine and an aldose, have been recognized as nontoxic precursors of glutathione with important preventive and therapeutic effects. The bioavailability of these compounds can be improved by enhancing their lipophilicity. This can be achieved by the introduction of some acyl groups derived from fatty acids via esterification of the aldose hydroxyl groups. With this purpose four new compounds were synthesized through a selective palmitoyl acylation of d-(-)-ribose and d-(+)-glucose and subsequent condensation with l-cysteine. In addition, the log P of the new compounds was calculated as a measure of the lipophilicity, and in vitro 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) tests were performed as a measure of the antioxidant capability.