Inclusion of cocoa bran in the diet of lambs and its effect on reproductive parameters.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of cocoa bran in the diet of lambs and its effect on reproductive parameters. For this, 40 lambs were randomly assigned to four treatments, and including 0, 10, 20 and 30% levels of cocoa bran in the concentrate. Blood was collected to measure cholesterol and testosterone and semen for physical and morphological evaluation; testicular biometry and morphometry were also evaluated. There was significant difference (P < 0.05) in body weight and tubulosomatic index between the lambs in the control treatment and those in the 30% cocoa bran treatment. There was no difference in testicular biometry, physical and morphological parameters of fresh semen, testicular morphometry, and volumetric ratio between lambs in all the treatments (P < 0.05). In addition, there was no difference in plasma cholesterol or testosterone concentration (P > 0.05). Thus, it is possible to include up to 30% of cocoa bran in diet without affecting the reproductive parameters of lambs.

Microbiological characterization of kombucha and biocellulose film produced with black tea and cocoa bean shell infusion.

The food industry is increasingly striving to produce probiotics-based food and beverages using sustainable processes. Therefore, the use of by-products in product development has been investigated by several authors. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of cocoa bean shell infusion in the production of kombucha through microbiological and genetic characterization. Three beverage formulations were prepared, one based on black tea (KBT), one based on cocoa bean shell infusion (KCS) and one containing 50 % black tea and 50 % cocoa shell infusion (KBL). The infusions were prepared with water, filtered, and sucrose was added. They were then homogenized and a portion of finished kombucha and SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) were added. Fermentation took place for 13 days and aliquots were collected every three days for physicochemical and microbial count analyses. Samples from the last day of fermentation were sent for DNA sequencing, extraction and quantification. The results were subjected to analysis of variance and compared by using Tukey's test (p < 0.05). The results show that there was a significant decrease in pH over time in all samples, while the titratable acidity increased, indicating an acidification of the beverage due to the production of organic acids. There was an increase in lactic acid bacterial colonies in all the formulations, which have a probiotic nature and are not always found in this type of beverage. Regarding the taxonomic classification of the samples, microorganisms of the kingdoms Fungi and Bacteria, of the families Saccharomycetaceae and Acetobacteraceae, were found in KBT, KCS and KBL, but with different microbiological compositions, with different amounts of yeasts and bacteria. Therefore, the use of by-products such as cocoa bean shell in the production of kombucha can contribute to the reduction of waste in the food industry and, at the same time, accelerate fermentation increasing the presence of lactic acid bacteria when compared to black tea.

High potential extracts from cocoa byproducts through sonotrode optimal extraction and a comprehensive characterization.

Cocoa pod husk (CPH) and cocoa bean shell (CBS) are by-products obtained during pre-processing and processing of cocoa beans. Several bioactive compounds have been identified in these by-products that can be used for commercial applications as a way to promote the circular economy. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to recover bioactive compounds from CPH and CBS by sonoextraction process, to determine the type, content, and antioxidant activity in optimized extracts. To achieve our purpose, an optimization strategy using Box-Behnken Design coupled response surface methodology (MRS) was applied. The extraction conditions were optimized. The results obtained for CBS were: TPC (193 mg GAE/g), TEAC (1.02 mmol TE/g), FRAP (1.02 mmol FeSO4/g) and ORAC (2.6 mmol TE/g), while for CPH, the reported values were: TPC (48 mg GAE/g), TEAC (0.30 mmol TE/g), FRAP (0.35 mmol FeSO4/g) and ORAC (0.43 mmol TE/g) under the optimized conditions: Time (XA): 15 min, Amplitude (XB): 80 %, Ethanol (XC): 50 %. The LC-ESI-qTOF-MS analysis results allowed the identification of 79 compounds, of which 39 represent the CBS extract, while 40 compounds were identified in CPH extract. To conclude, sonotrode based extraction could be considered as an efficient and fast alternative for the recovery of bioactive substances from CBS and CPH.