Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Polyphenols in chocolate and its functions

These polyphenols, mainly flavonoids with as catechin (flavan-3-ols), epicatechin and procyanidins, give chocolate antioxidant activity. Chocolate also contains additional flavonoids not found in tea, with high concentrations of oligomeric procyanidins.

Chocolates contain both a high quality and a high quantity of phenol antioxidants. Depending on the anthocyanin content, the pigmentation in polyphenol-storage cells ranges from white to deep purple.

Human studies have confirmed that polyphenols in chocolate are indeed bioavailable and able to increase the antioxidant capacity of plasma, with one study reporting that ingestion of 80 g of procyanidin rich-chocolate increased plasma epicatechin concentrations 12-fold.

Polyphenols and alkaloids, ~14 - 20% bean weight, are central to bean flavor character. Three groups of polyphenols can be differentiated: catechins or flvan-3-ols (~37%), anthocyanins (~4%) and proanthocyanidins (~58%).

Dark chocolate has the highest total catechin content, with approximately 53.5 mg/100 g, whereas milk chocolate contains approximately 15.9 mg/100 g. White chocolate primarily contains cocoa butter with minimal levels of polyphenols.
Polyphenols in chocolate and its functions
at
Labels: , , ,

The most popular articles

  • Modern History of Chocolate Milk
    The cocoa tree is an unusual tree, with its cultivation confined to limited areas and climatic conditions. The processing required both in t...
  • Expeller pressed cocoa butter
    Expeller cocoa butter is the fat prepared by the expeller process from cocoa beans singly or in combination with cocoa nib, cocoa mass, coco...
  • Purple cocoa beans
    Purple beans refer to low quality beans with purple color. The main reason for purple bean is a lack of adequate fermentation. When harves...
  • The Cut Test of Cocoa
    The standard method for evaluating the quality of cocoa beans is a cut test on which the interior of a certain number of beans that have bee...
  • Composition of Cocoa Beans
    Composition of Cocoa Beans The general composition of cocoa beans from various sources is similar. With properly fermented mature beans t...

Other interesting articles

  • Shortnotes of History
    The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the result of over three decades of vision, engineering, and perseverance. Conceived in the late 1980s as the “Nex...
  • Food Science Avenue
    Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) is a key molecule in cellular energy regulation, consisting of adenosine and two phosphate groups. It is central to the cell's ...
  • Food Technology and Processing
    Iodine is an essential element in human nutrition, primarily as a component of the thyroid hormone, thyroxine. This hormone plays a critical role in regula...
  • Food Science and Human Nutrition
    *Nutritional Role of Protein* Protein accounts for about 10–15 percent of energy in human diets and is indispensable for life. It forms the structure of all...