Antioxidant Properties of Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L.): Influence of Cultivar and Roasting Conditions

Figures & data

TABLE 1 Effects of roasting conditions on the total phenolics of cocoa beans of Forastero, Nacional, Trinitario, UAF, and T×UAF cultivars originating from various geographical regions

Total phenolic content mg GAE g^−1 DW
Roasting conditions		Cultivars (origin of cocoa beans)
Temp. (°C)	RH (%)	Forastero (Brazil)	Nacional (Ecuador)	Trinitario (Venezuela)	Trinitario (PNG)	UAF hybrid (Ghana)	T×UAF hybrid (Indonesia)	T×UAF hybrid (Cameroon)
Unroasted		173.58 ± 0.75bc	140.53 ± 0.61f	167.23 ± 0.52e	76.14 ± 0.49g	105.18 ± 0.56g	129.37 ± 0.50g	126.71 ± 0.57f
	0.3	174.65 ± 1.05c	140.87 ± 0.57f	168.56 ± 0.69e	75.20 ± 0.47f	103.20 ± 0.47f	125.65 ± 0.52e	123.86 ± 0.58e
110	2.0	175.13 ± 1.01c	140.90 ± 0.42f	169.90 ± 0.72f	75.05 ± 0.48f	103.43 ± 0.36f	127.02 ± 0.45ef	124.05 ± 0.49e
	5.0	175.76 ± 1.09cd	141.11 ± 0.80f	170.57 ± 0.49f	75.31 ± 0.51f	104.77 ± 0.39g	128.24 ± 0.56fg	125.24 ± 0.59ef
	0.3	178.62 ± 1.05e	136.69 ± 0.59de	163.94 ± 0.60d	70.18 ± 0.51de	93.50 ± 0.49bc	119.92 ± 0.49c	115.96 ± 0.60d
120	2.0	177.95 ± 1.03de	137.90 ± 0.64e	164.19 ± 0.69d	70.55 ± 0.57e	93.85 ± 0.50bc	121.03 ± 0.58cd	117.04 ± 0.57d
	5.0	177.72 ± 1.07de	139.68 ± 0.81f	167.13 ± 0.80e	70.73 ± 0.62e	95.77 ± 0.37de	122.00 ± 0.51d	117.18 ± 0.59d
	0.3	177.96 ± 0.78de	134.82 ± 0.76c	161.65 ± 0.72c	69.26 ± 0.59c	94.68 ± 0.33cd	112.88 ± 0.50a	109.52 ± 0.43ab
135	2.0	181.54 ± 0.98f	135.61 ± 0.58cd	163.91 ± 0.52d	69.51 ± 0.40cd	95.52 ± 0.46de	113.12 ± 0.56ab	109.74 ± 0.56abc
	5.0	181.89 ± 0.92f	136.58 ± 0.62de	164.36 ± 0.69d	70.19 ± 0.42de	96.32 ± 0.70e	114.53 ± 0.57b	111.11 ± 0.59c
	0.3	169.49 ± 0.98a	123.73 ± 0.32a	148.35 ± 0.58a	64.57 ± 0.53a	90.63 ± 0.32a	111.98 ± 0.40a	108.72 ± 0.52a
150	2.0	172.07 ± 0.96b	123.52 ± 0.79a	147.87 ± 0.57a	65.44 ± 0.45ab	91.09 ± 0.51a	112.40 ± 0.49a	110.26 ± 0.51bc
	5.0	171.63 ± 0.80ab	125.82 ± 0.36b	151.46 ± 0.62b	65.67 ± 0.48b	92.71 ± 0.46ab	113.31 ± 0.60ab	111.13 ± 0.50c

RH: relative air humidities; PNG: Papua New Guinea;

Values represent the mean ± SD of triplicate determinations;

Means with the same letter for each variety in the same column do not differ according to Tukey’s HSD test at p < 0.05.

TABLE 2 Effects of roasting conditions on the antioxidant capacity measured by ABTS assay of cocoa beans of Forastero, Nacional, Trinitario, UAF, and T×UAF cultivars originating from various geographical regions

ABTS antioxidant capacity µmole TE g^−1 DW
Roasting conditions		Cultivars (origin of cocoa beans)
Temp. (°C)	RH (%)	Forastero (Brazil)	Nacional (Ecuador)	Trinitario (Venezuela)	Trinitario (PNG)	UAF hybrid (Ghana)	T×UAF hybrid (Indonesia)	T×UAF hybrid (Cameroon)
Unroasted		1406.77 ± 1.50d	1015.33 ± 1.48d	1386.10 ± 1.56e	482.01 ± 1.07e	682.71 ± 1.55g	918.52 ± 1.35eA	918.88 ± 1.46dA
	0.3	1407.79 ± 1.50d	1043.48 ± 1.56e	1391.09 ± 1.58e	481.09 ± 1.02e	658.24 ± 1.39e	914.05 ± 1.65e	910.79 ± 1.53d
110	2.0	1430.68 ± 1.47e	1046.96 ± 1.53e	1396.89 ± 1.52ef	481.43 ± 1.06e	666.97 ± 1.46f	915.04 ± 1.50e	912.70 ± 1.56d
	5.0	1448.53 ± 1.59e	1053.19 ± 1.51e	1409.46 ± 1.50f	481.60 ± 0.89e	668.15 ± 1.56f	918.10 ± 1.54e	917.15 ± 1.48d
	0.3	1383.64 ± 1.57c	1003.00 ± 1.34c	1363.59 ± 1.49d	445.03 ± 1.10c	594.51 ± 1.57d	827.98 ± 1.53d	810.35 ± 1.35c
120	2.0	1387.62 ± 1.60c	1007.76 ± 1.48cd	1360.73 ± 1.37d	449.65 ± 1.08c	599.12 ± 1.60d	830.18 ± 1.57d	812.68 ± 1.55c
	5.0	1388.83 ± 1.51c	1016.15 ± 1.53d	1357.36 ± 1.51d	465.71 ± 1.06d	601.51 ± 1.46d	830.99 ± 1.30d	814.27 ± 1.53c
	0.3	1393.74 ± 1.41cd	962.36 ± 1.52b	1313.94 ± 1.50bc	410.70 ± 1.12a	554.79 ± 1.49b	804.22 ± 1.53bc	774.92 ± 1.57a
135	2.0	1378.48 ± 1.51bc	970.22 ± 1.50b	1319.75 ± 1.53c	418.91 ± 1.09b	557.25 ± 1.54bc	809.55 ± 1.47c	777.54 ± 1.50ab
	5.0	1365.35 ± 1.50b	970.51 ± 1.47b	1325.10 ± 1.47c	419.77 ± 1.00b	563.77 ± 1.53c	811.99 ± 1.52c	778.80 ± 1.52ab
	0.3	1322.96 ± 1.40a	914.78 ± 1.51a	1285.77 ± 1.55a	405.11 ± 1.03a	545.57 ± 1.55a	790.28 ± 1.52a	782.95 ± 1.35ab
150	2.0	1329.27 ± 1.52a	916.79 ± 1.42a	1301.21 ± 1.52ab	406.11 ± 0.98a	545.63 ± 1.24a	792.17 ± 1.58a	784.93 ± 1.23ab
	5.0	1332.86 ± 1.54a	917.21 ± 1.30a	1295.44 ± 1.46a	407.26 ± 1.01a	562.54 ± 1.57bc	794.45 ± 1.53ab	786.20 ± 1.51b

RH: relative air humidities; PNG: Papua New Guinea;

Values represent the mean ± SD of triplicate determinations;

Means with the same letter for each variety in the same column do not differ according to Tukey’s HSD test at p < 0.05.

TABLE 3 Effects of roasting conditions on the antioxidant capacity measured by DPPH assay of cocoa beans of Forastero, Nacional, Trinitario, UAF, and T×UAF cultivars originating from various geographical regions

DPPH antioxidant capacity µmole TE g^−1 DW
Roasting conditions		Cultivars (origin of cocoa beans)
Temp. (°C)	RH (%)	Forastero (Brazil)	Nacional (Ecuador)	Trinitario (Venezuela)	Trinitario (PNG)	UAF hybrid (Ghana)	T×UAF hybrid (Indonesia)	T×UAF hybrid (Cameroon)
Unroasted		1370.12 ± 1.35a	922.08 ± 1.30bc	1146.63 ± 1.47d	323.81 ± 1.25g	529.26 ± 1.47h	816.38 ± 1.40e	808.20 ± 1.52f
	0.3	1376.11 ± 1.30ab	922.34 ± 1.53bc	1055.05 ± 1.50c	322.35 ± 1.52g	505.68 ± 1.40g	760.47 ± 1.47bc	752.85 ± 1.55cd
110	2.0	1387.73 ± 1.28bc	923.25 ± 1.35bc	1056.63 ± 1.54c	322.78 ± 1.29g	508.01 ± 1.38g	772.34 ± 1.51d	764.60 ± 1.54e
	5.0	1392.02 ± 1.40c	924.73 ± 1.24bc	1059.25 ± 1.52c	323.50 ± 1.20g	511.27 ± 1.39g	772.80 ± 1.50d	765.05 ± 1.38e
	0.3	1383.71 ± 1.53bc	928.31 ± 1.45c	1048.54 ± 1.45c	320.93 ± 1.37fg	335.73 ± 1.52a	733.35 ± 1.39a	728.03 ± 1.40a
120	2.0	1387.69 ± 1.52bc	930.71 ± 1.28c	1049.93 ± 1.27c	317.75 ± 1.39ef	364.27 ± 1.45b	741.22 ± 1.50a	733.79 ± 1.51a
	5.0	1388.90 ± 1.45bc	931.46 ± 1.25c	1048.24 ± 1.46c	314.60 ± 1.35e	382.38 ± 1.35c	738.84 ± 1.47a	735.98 ± 1.53ab
	0.3	1394.07 ± 1.35bc	915.87 ± 1.60b	943.53 ± 1.30a	251.97 ± 1.60d	406.33 ± 1.48d	751.73 ± 1.43b	744.20 ± 1.37bc
135	2.0	1395.66 ± 1.47c	916.10 ± 1.53b	951.98 ± 1.37a	247.45 ± 1.48c	407.15 ± 1.52d	753.02 ± 1.50bc	745.39 ± 1.51bcd
	5.0	1396.01 ± 1.37c	920.74 ± 1.51bc	952.94 ± 1.48a	254.47 ± 1.52d	415.35 ± 1.24e	757.09 ± 1.39bc	749.50 ± 1.41cd
	0.3	1359.89 ± 1.55a	882.94 ± 1.53a	1007.09 ± 1.50b	191.31 ± 1.54a	457.88 ± 1.52f	758.06 ± 1.53bc	750.46 ± 1.45cd
150	2.0	1363.00 ± 1.50a	884.89 ± 1.47a	1011.67 ± 1.52b	208.42 ± 1.36b	457.83 ± 1.29f	760.66 ± 1.47bc	753.04 ± 1.49cd
	5.0	1364.60 ± 1.51a	880.46 ± 1.49a	1019.82 ± 1.51b	208.73 ± 1.39b	459.24 ± 1.37f	762.07 ± 1.45c	754.44 ± 1.40cd

RH: relative air humidities; PNG: Papua New Guinea;

Values represent the mean ± SD of triplicate determinations;

Means with the same letter for each variety in the same column do not differ according to Tukey’s HSD test at p < 0.05.

TABLE 4 Correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant activities in raw and roasted seeds of different cocoa cultivars

	Total phenolic content	ABTS antioxidant activity	DPPH antioxidant capacity	Fe^2+ chelating ability
Total phenolic content	–	–	–	–
ABTS antioxidant activity	0.989 (p < 0.001)	–	–	–
DPPH antioxidant capacity	0.968 (p < 0.001)	0.954 (p < 0.001)	–	–
Fe^2+ chelating ability	0.778 (p < 0.001)	0.726 (p < 0.001)	0.814 (p < 0.001)	–

FIGURE 1 Changes in the ferrous ion chelating activity of the cocoa bean samples of Forastero, Nacional, Trinitario, UAF, and T×UAF cultivars roasted at different temperatures and relative air humidities. B: Brazil; E: Ecuador; V: Venezuela; PNG: Papua New Guinea; G: Ghana; I: Indonesia; C: Cameroon. Results are presented as the mean ± SD from triplicate determinations. Bars that share the same letter within the cultivars are not significantly different according to Tukey’s HSD test at p > 0.05.