Cocoa beans are the main raw material for the manufacture of chocolate and are currently gaining great importance due to their antioxidant potential attributed to the total phenolic content (TPC) and the monomeric flavan-3-ols (epicatechin and catechin). The objective of this study was to determine the degradation kinetics parameters of TPC, epicatechin, and catechin during the roasting process of Criollo cocoa for 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 min at 90, 110, 130, 150, 170, 190, and 200 • C. The results showed a lower degradation of TPC (10.98 ± 6.04%) and epicatechin (8.05 ± 3.01%) at 130 • C and 10 min of roasting, while a total degradation of epicatechin and a 92.29 ± 0.06% degradation of TPC was obtained at 200 • C and 50 min. Reaction rate constant (k) and activation energy (E a ) were 0.02-0.10 min −1 and 24.03 J/mol for TPC and 0.02-0.13 min −1 and 22.51 J/mol for epicatechin, respectively. Degradation kinetics of TPC and epicatechin showed first-order reactions, while the catechin showed patterns of formation and degradation.Antioxidants 2020, 9, 146 2 of 12 concentrations of polyphenols as antioxidants [12]. These health effects have been assumed to be associated with the presence of polyphenols, among which are monomeric flavan-3-ols: epicatechin and catechin [5,[13][14][15][16]. The beneficial effects of cocoa polyphenols to human health are, among others, the scavenge of free radicals and prevention of damage to DNA, the chelation of metals, vasoprotective effects, improvements in endothelial function, anti-inflammatory effects, the amelioration of insulin resistance, and anticarcinogenic effects, among others [13,[17][18][19][20][21]. Cocoa is a rich source of polyphenolic compounds and may account for 12-18% of the dry mass of the beans [5]. Typically, polyphenols are sensitive to heat during the process, especially under a high temperature environment, i.e., roasting and drying [22,23]. Additionally, roasting influences the alteration of bioactive compounds [24]. In particular, the roasting process leads to the loss or modification of flavanols, which leads to a 14% loss of the total phenolic content (TPC), as well as the epimerization of epicatechin to catechin [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32].Kinetic modeling can provide a deeper understanding of the changes that occur during thermal processing controlling and food quality optimization [33,34]. Since these roasting techniques were introduced to the chocolate industry, the roasting time and temperature have been studied, applying designs or models that allow for a proper assessment of the process [35]. Various studies have been reported on the effect of roasting on cocoa nibs' coloration, physical/chemical changes [4,5,8,16,23,25,36], flavor changes [37], and the kinetics of polyphenol degradation during drying [12,28,38]; however, studies on the kinetics of the polyphenol and monomeric flavan-3-ol degradation of Criollo cocoa during the roasting process are scarce, so the aim of the present study was to understand this degradation and determine the ki...

Cocoa beans are the raw material for the chocolate industry. In this study, the total fat contents and fatty acid profiles of fine-aroma cocoa beans of 30 cocoa ecotypes from northeastern Peru were evaluated. Results showed that SJJ-1 and ACJ-11 ecotypes from San Martin and Amazonas regions, respectively, presented highest percentages of total fat with an average of 30.49%. With respect to fatty acid profiles, it was found that cocoa ecotypes are composed of 10 fatty acids (C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, C17:0, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3, C20:0, and C22:0); based on this profile, 5 clusters were determined. Cluster 5 had the highest content of C17:0 fatty acid (0.47%); however, the clusters 1, 2, 3, and 4 had the lowest content of this fatty acid (0.37%, 0.32%, 0.32%, respectively). The clusters 3 and 4 showed the highest content of C16:0 fatty acid (31.13% y 28.97%, respectively). The clusters 3 and 5 contained the highest content of the acid C18:1 (27.08% y 26.82%, respectively). The PCA found that C18:0 and C20:0 fatty acids are correlated, and are fundamentally opposite to C18:1, C16:0, and C18:3 acids. These results may be useful in identifying raw material for the development of specialty chocolates with better nutritional value than traditional cocoa.

Las Áreas de Conservación Privada (ACP) son uno de los mecanismos de conservación, gestionadas por ciudadanos privados que más protagonismo han adquirido en los escenarios de conservación local en los últimos años. En este estudio evaluamos la efectividad de cuatro ACP gestionadas por comunidades locales (CC). Se aplicó el Índice de Efectividad Compuesto (IEC) para determinar la efectividad del diseño, la integridad ecológica y la gestión. Los resultados muestran sistemas de gestión con una efectividad media, tres de las cuatro ACP evaluados (Copallín, Huaylla Belén-Colcamar y Tilacancha) reportan un diseño efectivo. Los rangos altitudinales protegidos están entre 2500 y 3500 m.s.n.m., con un índice de representatividad de la superficie promedio de 4,55% con respecto al área conservada en la categoría ACP para el departamento de Amazonas. La evaluación de la integridad ecológica indica que las ACP presentan menor superficie transformada (TS) (0-10%) y mayor TS en sus áreas circundantes, especialmente en el ACP Tilacancha (13,37% de TS en un buffer de 1,5 km). La suma ponderada de los índices individuales resulta en índices de efectividad compuestos de mayor a menor para el ACP Copallín (2,22), Hierba Buena Allpayacku (1,82), Huaylla Belen Colcamar (1,81) y Tilacancha (1,56).

No abstract

The objective of the research was to evaluate the antioxidant activity, phenols and volatile compounds of different types coffee infusions. We worked with the Catimor coffee variety and used five methods to obtain the infusion (espresso, V60, siphon, French press and a traditional local method). For each infusion, the antioxidant capacity was determined with the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid techniques, the phenolic content was determined with the Folin-Ciocalteu technique, and aromatic volatile compounds were determined with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The extraction method that yielded the coffee infusions with the most antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds and caffeine content was espresso; however, this coffee had the fewest aromatic volatile compounds. Although they had lower antioxidant activity, the infusions obtained with the French press had the highest content of volatile aromatic compounds and produced a cup that was free of pyridine, an undesirable compound in coffee due to its rotten smell.