Flavonoid, polyphenols, especially catechin and epicatechin,are major components in cocoa products, which are known for antioxidant properties. Cocoa bean requires fermentation process in order to obtain good taste. During the fermentation process, polyphenols are oxidized by polyphenol oxidase to form quinone and 2-quinon. The purpose of the research is to determine the total level of polyphenol and antioxidant activity of fermented and roasted cocoa beans. The experiment was using Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with fermentation treatment that includes: Without fermentation, three-day fermentation and five-day fermentation. Observation parameters include: Polyphenol level and antioxidant activity with DPPH method. The results showed that the total phenol level of cocoa bean changed during fermentation and after roasting. The highest phenol level was found in cocoa beans without fermentation, and there is a decrease of phenol level to 98% after fermentation and roasting. The fermentation affects the Inhibition Concentration (IC50) of cocoa beans. An unfermented bean showed a very strongly active antioxidant activity with IC50 of 7.848 ppm, whereas three-day fermentation showed a strong antioxidant activity with IC50 of 35.961 ppm, and five-day fermentation is moderately active with IC50 of 55.976 ppm.
Black pepper is a high nutrient-demanding crop; however, high application rates of the chemical fertilizer may give a negative impact on the environment and human health. Coapplication of the chemical fertilizer with biological fertilizers or biological agents is very important to support growth and high yield. This field experiment was carried out to study the effect of Trichoderma harzianum and foliar fertilization on the vegetative growth of black pepper. The study was conducted for 4 months. The research method was arranged in a factorial based on randomized block design (RBD). The first factor was the application of Trichoderma (50 g, 75 g, and 100 g per plant), and the second one was foliar fertilizers (1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and without foliar fertilizer as the control). The treatments were repeated three times. The results showed that the application of both Trichoderma and foliar fertilizer affected the rate of shoot growth, the number of leaves, and the emergence time on black pepper seedlings under the nursery conditions. The application of 50 g/plant of Trichoderma and 1.5% of the foliar fertilizer resulted in 26% longer shoot length and 54% more leaves and accelerated the appearance of shoots 10 days earlier compared to without Trichoderma and the foliar fertilizer.
This study aims to identify saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in Crude Palm Oil (CPO), palm kernel seeds, Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), and cocoa beans using Gas Chromatography (GC-FID). The results of GC-FID analysis showed that VCO contains 90.896% saturated fatty acids, 49.382% CPO, 37.395% palm kernel seeds, and 21.197% cocoa beans. Lauric acid is the highest component in VCO, namely 45.567%, while in CPO the highest component is palmitic acid 43.343%, palm kernel seeds are lauric acid 21.683%, and steric acid 12.120% in cocoa beans. The most unsaturated fatty acids were found in CPO, namely 50.517%, and cocoa beans 11.825%. The unsaturated fatty acids in CPO are oleic acid 39.538% and linoleic acid 10.290%, while in cocoa beans linoleic acid is 11.016%.
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