Evaluation of the aromatic profile of cocoa bean shells and fractions from the fat extraction process with hexane and alcoholic solvents

Abstract

Cocoa bean shells (CS) are a co-product of the cocoa industry, being treated most often as waste. Some works have been developed to find this material's valorization based on its significant amounts of lipids, fibers, proteins, and bioactive compounds. The process extraction with solvents is an emerging option for this valorization. It provides the obtaining fat, with a fatty acid composition similar to cocoa butter, and defatted solids rich in fiber and protein, termed CS defatted flour. In this way, both fractions obtained from extraction can have great potential for application in different food formulations, being of great industrial interest. The extraction of lipids from plant matrices is commonly performed with commercial hexane due to its high efficiency in the solubilization of these compounds. However, it is a toxic solvent of fossil origin. In this way, several studies propose its replacement by alternative solvents, such as ethanol and isopropanol, which provide greater technological, economic, and environmental security to the process. Some of these studies report that, besides the advantages mentioned for the process in general, there are also differences generated in the profiles aromatics of the defatted fractions obtained with the different solvents. However, no studies scientifically prove this information and verify the differences among the volatiles that make up the aroma of fats and defatted fractions obtained by different solvents. Because of this, the current project aims to evaluate the volatile compounds responsible for the aroma of dry and toasted CS and fractions obtained from the extraction process with hexane or alcoholic solvents (fat and defatted flour). The proposed study will add information about the sensory characteristics of CS and the effect of the type of solvent used in the extraction process, allowing to evaluate the applicability of the fractions evaluated as substitutes for commercial materials, such as cocoa butter and powder. (AU)