Oxidative stability of functional phytosterol-enriched dark chocolate

Is it the dark in dark chocolate?

When we first entered this scientific area about 10 years ago, we did not fully appreciate the emotional content of discussions involving chocolate. Contacts between medical scientists and the lay press tend to be sporadic. When chocolate is the issue, however, the lay press interest becomes intense and widespread. We have participated in many dozens, probably hundreds, of interviews about our ...

Dark Chocolate and Metabolic Syndrome; Do Polyphenols All that Matter?

Stability of sterols in phytosterol-enriched milk under different heating conditions.

Commercially available phytosterol-enriched milk was subjected to usual and drastic heating conditions to evaluate the stability of the sterols at different treatments. Products showed 422.2 mg of phytosterols/100 g of milk and 132 microg of sterol oxidation products (SOPs)/g of fat (277 microg of SOPs/100 g of milk). Schaal oven conditions (24 h/65 degrees C, equivalent to 1 month of storage a...

Oxidative Stability of Margarine Enriched with Phoenix canariensis L. Date Peel Extract

This paper concerns the oxidative stability of experimental reduced-fat margarine (EM) enriched with canariensis red date peel powder extracts. For this, the two phases intended for obtaining the margarine were used first as extraction solvents. Both enriched phases thus obtained are then employed to formulate different margarine samples. In addition to color and rheologic...

The mysterious light of dark chocolate.

A healthy diet plays a key role in the prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases. Dark chocolate in particular has been shown to improve endothelial functions and lipid profile and to have cardiovascular protective effects via an inhibitory action on platelet functions. Recently, several studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of chocolate, primarily on hypertension and othe...