In vitro protein digestibility of enzymatically pre-treated cocoa bean powder using commercial protease

Abstract

The quality and selling value of cocoa beans could be greatly improved through proper drying of fermented cocoa. Cocoa products are one of the foods that are in great demand by the community, and the fruit could be a source of vegetable protein production. However, the nutritional value of a food is determined by both its total protein content, and the availability of digestible protein. Therefore, the digestibility of this class of food needs to be evaluated. This study was conducted using cocoa beans from the regions of Bali, Jember, Yogyakarta, and Sukabumi, with 2 types of cocoa powder samples namely fat-free, and fat-polyphenols. Furthermore, it used a completely randomized factorial design, consisting of two factors. The first factor was pepsin concentration, comprising of 1000 and 2000 U/ml, while the second was pancreatic activity, consisting of 3 and 8USP. The protein content of the cocoa was tested and the digestibility was determined. The results show that fat-polyphenol-free cocoa powder with 1000 U/mL pepsin and 3USP pancreatic and Jember had the highest protein digestibility with a value of about ± 95%. Furthermore, the results of protein digestibility showed that variations in the concentration of pepsin and pancreatic enzymes had a significant effect on the protein. Therefore, this research shows that interactions between compounds present in foods, like protein-phenolic, could have a significant effect on protein digestibility.