Pathogenic bacteria can cause poisoning in humans, especially through food that comes into contact with humans during handling, processing, storage, and serving.
Cocoa bean has abundant deposit of polyphenols. Total polyphenol content of cocoa is significantly higher than blueberry, cranberry, pomegranate and consequently anti-oxidant activity is much higher than other. Cocoa polyphenols have been shown to have microbial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacterial.
Study published in Journal of Traditional Medicine 14(47) demonstrated that extracted bioactive components of the skin of dried and fresh cocoa husk which showed inhibition of the growth of pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella thyposa and Streptococcus mutans. Antimicrobial activity of cocoa shell extract and cocoa husk extract is still in the intermediate inhibitory zone and has not been effective in inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria in food products.
Study published in Der Pharmacia Lettre · January 2015 shows that antimicrobial assay was done by measuring the zone of inhibition for the extracts of cocoa samples against nine pathogenic strains. Cacao seeds extract was able to inhibit four pathogenic strains which include S. aereus, Salmonella sp., K. pneumoniae and S. marcescens.
Antimicrobial activity of Theobroma cacao
