The study was carried out to enumerate fungal contamination, and toxigenicity of Aspergillus flavus strains on cacao beans during drying storage. As many as 3500 g storage were purchased from smallholder farmers the plantation areas at Karo Regency, Northern Sumatera. percentage contaminated by fungi conducted using direct plating. Fungal populations soil determined dilution followed pour plate...

Question " In healthy adults, how effective is the consumption of cocoa flavanols/cocoa polyphenols, particularly drinking cocoa, for improving memory and cognitive function? "

Pesticides are a significant component of the modern agricultural technology that has been widely adopted across the globe to control pests, diseases, weeds and other plant pathogens, in an effort to reduce or eliminate yield losses and maintain high product quality. Although pesticides are said to be toxic and exposes farmers to risk due to the hazardous effects of these chemicals, pesticide u...

Enhancing cognitive abilities has become a fascinating scientific challenge, recently driven by the interest in preventing age-related cognitive decline and sustaining normal cognitive performance in response to cognitively demanding environments. In recent years, cocoa and cocoa-derived products, as a rich source of flavonoids, mainly the flavanols sub-class, have been clearly shown to exert c...

Cocoa seeds were roasted at 120oC for 10 and 20 minutes were ground to a fine paste to obtain cocoa liquor. Cocoa fudge samples were prepared using the prepared liquor cocoa butter, sugar and lecithin. The two samples were analyzed for their physicochemical and sensory properties. The results of the study reveal that the roasting duration has a significant influence on both the properties. An i...

It has been reported that ingestion of cocoa or chocolate reduces blood pressure in the subjects with hypertension. To clarify the hypotensive activity of cocoa, we carried out the research on microcirculation using intravital microscopic technique. First, we estimated the influence of repeated treatment of cocoa on microcirculation. Male rats fed normal diet (ND) or 15% fat containing high fat...

BACKGROUND Cardiometabolic profile is usually altered in obesity. Interestingly, the consumption of flavanol-rich foods might be protective against those metabolic alterations. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the postprandial cardiometabolic effects after the acute consumption of cocoa extract before and after 4 weeks of its daily intake. Furthermore, the bioavailability of cocoa extract was investigat...

BACKGROUND The Maya of Central America are credited with the first consumption of cocoa and maintaining its ancient Olmec name kakawa translated in English as "God Food", in recognition of its multiple health benefits. The legend of cocoa is receiving renewed attention in recent years, on account of epidemiological and scientific studies that support its cardiovascular health benefits. Increasi...

Cocoa powder is rich in polyphenols, such as catechins and procyanidins, and has been shown in a variety of subject models to inhibit oxidized LDL and atherogenesis. Our study evaluated plasma LDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL concentrations following the intake of different levels of cocoa powder (13, 19.5, and 26 g/d) in normocholesterolemic and mildly hypercholesterolemic humans. In this comp...

Chocolate production suffered a vast impact with the emergence of the "witches' broom" disease in cocoa plants. To recover cocoa production, many disease-resistant hybrid plants have been developed. However, some different cocoa hybrids produce cocoa beans that generate chocolate with variable quality. Fermentation of cocoa beans is a microbiological process that can be applied for the producti...