Cocoa Pod Husk: A High‐Pectin Source with Applications in the Food and Biomedical Fields

Abstract

Cocoa liquor, butter, and powder represent derived products from a small portion of the fruits, compared with the cocoa pod husk (CPH) which accounts for ~70 % of fresh weight. CPH, improperly disposed in plantations, can cause diseases threatening worldwide chocolate production. However, this biomass can be a potential source of bioactive compounds aligned with the circular economy. An overview on the different methods for extracting pectin, resulting in variable extraction yields with a critical discussion on the obtained physicochemical characteristics, is presented. Additionally, the potential applications of the extracted pectin for food and biomedical application are discussed, including thickener, stabilizer, excipient, drug-release modifier, macrophage activator, etc. Despite these potential outputs, new extraction methods need to be considered for improving efficiency and sustainability. Finally, potential approaches are introduced that can help to minimize the environmental impact, making the extraction cost-and time-efficient, and, therefore, more ssustainable for a further successful translation to industry.

Physical characteristics of extrudates from wheat semolina enriched with cocoa bean shells

“…The basic raw material for the production of different cocoa products such as cocoa powder, cocoa butter and chocolate is dried and fermented cocoa beans. Cocoa bean shells (Figure 1) are one of the by-products of cocoa beans obtained in the chocolate industry and they are well known as waste [2,6]. Despite this fact it was established that cocoa bean shells are rich in dietary fibers and polyphenols and could be used as foodadditives or supplements of high nutritional value [7].…”

High Pectin Recovery from Cocoa Husks Using an Autoclave Approach: An Analysis of Its Physicochemical, Structural, and Genotoxicity Properties

“…Several extraction methods have been used to recover pectin from plant sources including enzymatic extraction, and ultrasound-, microwave-, thermal- and autoclave-assisted extraction [ 13 ]. Pectin extraction from cocoa husks using hot water extraction at 50 °C for 90 min and at 100 °C for 90 min gave 7.5% and 12.6% pectin yield, respectively [ 14 ], implying that high temperatures enhanced pectin recovery.…”

Exploiting residual cocoa biomass to extract advanced materials as building blocks for manufacturing nanoparticles aimed at alleviating formation-induced oxidative stress on human dermal fibroblasts

“…Cocoa bean production plays a crucial role in the economies of many developing countries, but on a global scale, it largely follows a linear economic model, which threatens sustainability 1 . The consumption of cocoa butter and liquor has driven an expansion in planting areas; consequently, increasing the generation of residual biomass, accounting for approximately 60-70% of fresh fruit 2 . According to the International Cocoa Organisation, in 2022, a total of 16,072.2 tons of cocoa were traded globally, resulting in approximately 12,857.76 tons of residual biomass derived from post-harvest activities, including pod husks (CPH), leachate and pulp.…”

“…However, CPH contain a significant number of antioxidant and antiinflammatory compounds, including flavonoids and phenolic acids, which are gaining great interest due to their potential health ARTICLE Nanoscale Advances 2 | J. Name., 2012, 00, [1][2][3] This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 20xx…”