Abstract

SOTELO C., LILIANA; ALVIS B., ARMANDO  and  ARRAZOLA P., GUILLERMO. Evaluation of epicatechin, theobromine and caffeine in cacao husks (Theobroma cacao L.), determination of the antioxidant capacity. rev.colomb.cienc.hortic. [online]. 2015, vol.9, n.1, pp.124-134. ISSN 2011-2173.  https://doi.org/10.17584/rcch.2015v9i1.3751.

The increasing scarcity of natural resources and serious environmental problems in the food industry have resulted in interest in recovering by-products to obtain ingredients; cacao husks represent the principal waste of this agro-industry and a source of pollution for these crops. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contents of polyphenols, epicatechin, theobromine and caffeine in cacao husks and determine the antioxidant capacity. For the extraction, ethanol and water were used at a 1:1 ratio, without acidification and acidified with 1% HCL, cacao husks are adapted to up to 8 ±1% humidity and particles smaller than 0.5 mm. Extracts were obtained by agitation at 200 rpm/6 hours and ultrasound of 60 Hz/2 hours; the total polyphenol content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau method, using a standard method with gallic acid; the antioxidant capacity was determined by the techniques of OR AC, FR AP and ABTS, a pattern curve was generated with Trolox for the three cases; the contents of (-) - epicatechin, theobromine and caffeine were determined with HPLC. The results showed that the cacao husks had polyphenol contents between 16.40-23.01 EAG/g, an antioxidant capacity with FR AP values of 13660.13-16904.25 mm TE/100 g, along with an ABTS of 11603.12-22961.57 mm TE/100 g and an OR AC of 25150.94 - 34292.71 mm TE/100 g, a (-) - epicatechin content of 0.2482-0.3505 mg g^-1, caffeine content of 0.0209-0,0427 mg g^-1 and theobromine content of 0.0200-0.0375 mg g^-1.

Keywords : agro-industry; pod husk waste; polyphenol compounds.

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