Determinación de la calidad fenólica del cacao (Theobroma cacao L.)

Abstract

Abstract: The greater interest in the consumption of foods that besides nourishing with a favorable impact on health, has encouraged the study of natural components in plants and fruits such as cacao. The objective of the present work was to extract and evaluate the phenolic compounds present in cocoa powder (Theobroma cacao L.) for which extracts were prepared by dynamic maceration using ethanol, ethanol-water (50:50 v/v) and water as solvents and temperatures of 20, 40 and 60 °C. The total phenol content was determined by the method Folin Ciocalteu, the antioxidant capacity by the DPPH and FRAP methods, as well as by evaluating the IC50 parameter to the best treatment by the DPPH method. The best results presented the ethanol-water extracts (50:50v/v) with total phenol values between 3614,02 and 4784,50 mg EAG /100g and in antioxidant capacity of 446,15 to 454,96 μΜ ET/g with DPPH and 317,02 to 357,11 μΜ ET/g with FRAP; demonstrating the potential of cocoa to be used in the manufacture of food ingredients or formulation by the food industry.