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							| Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007



	

				
						
 
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																Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007
										

				


				
				
					
					
						
																					
				
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					Vol. 13 No. 10 (2023): October 2023
				
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									Research Articles
							
		



	
		  	 

		
	
		Evaluation of theobromine content and the relationship between cocoa percentages in dark chocolates
	


	
	
		

							
					Authors

						
							
								Fatma Hulyam Eren
							
															
									Eastern Mediterranean University, Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Health Sciences Faculty, Famagusta, North Cyprus
																	
																																				
																		
										https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5661-5632
									
								
													
	
							
								Seray Kabaran
							
																																		


				
			
																	
					
												DOI:
					

					
						
							https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i10.1141
						
					
				
			

						
										
					Abstract

					Background: There are no specific regulations governing the labeling of dark chocolate or its bioactive component quantities.. The main alkaloid of the cocoa bean is theobromine. Chocolate is by far the main source of theobromine in the Western diet. To assess their effects on health, it is essential to understand the ingredients and composition of biologically active substances in chocolates available in stores.
Objective: The present study aims to analyze the theobromine contents of commercial chocolates and evaluates the association between the labeled cocoa mass percentage (%), theobromine contents and evaluated non-fat cocoa solid (NFCS) parameters of dark chocolates. 
Materials and Methods: Several types of chocolates (bittersweet dark [60-80% cacao], semisweet dark [45-50% cacao], milk chocolate, and chocolate spreads) were analyzed using UV-Vis spectrophotometry with duplicate measurements.. Samples (n=20) typically 6 months apart from production dates have been selected. 
Results: Overall range for theobromine content varied from 1.9 to 9.6 mg/g. Of all, bittersweet dark chocolate had the highest (8.1±1.01 mg/g) concentration of theobromine in comparison to semisweet dark chocolate (6.4±0.79 mg/g). Milk-chocolate (2.7±0.26 mg/g) and chocolate-spreads (2.7±0.81 mg/g) had the lowest concentration of theobromine. A strong correlation between theobromine content and declared cocoa solid % was found in both of the dark chocolate categories (r = 0.523, p = 0.081 and r = 0.771, p = 0.009 for semisweet and bittersweet dark chocolate, respectively). NFCS indicated a correlation between the labeled cocoa solid % (R2 = 0.766) and the calculated cocoa solid % (R2 = 0.803) in dark chocolates. A high correlation has also been determined between the labeled cocoa solid percentage and the calculated cacao solid percentage in dark chocolates (R2 = 0.902).
Conclusion: The labeled content of the cocoa mass of dark chocolates could be a preliminary information for the consumer about theobromine capacity.

Keywords: Theobromine, chocolate, dark chocolate, cocoa-percentage, UV-Vis spectrophotometry

				
			
			

						
																																							
					
													Author Biography
											

						
								
																																							Fatma Hulyam Eren,  Eastern Mediterranean University, Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Health Sciences Faculty, Famagusta, North Cyprus 
																	

								
									Eastern Mediterranean University
								

							


				
			
						
		


		

						
										
					
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						Published
					

					
																			2023-10-24
																	

				
							

			
						
										

											
							
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									Vol. 13 No. 10 (2023): October 2023
								
							

						
					
											
							
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								Research Articles
							

						
					
									

			
						
										
					
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