We sampled a cocoa powder production line to investigate the impact of processing on the microbial community size and diversity at different stages. Classical microbiological methods were combined with 16S rRNA gene PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, coupled with clone library construction, to analyze the samples. Aerobic thermoresistant spores (ThrS) (100°C; 10 min) were also isolate...

This paper is a theoretical and empirical investigation into the impact of the structural adjustment program (SAP) on forest loss in Ghana between the period 1965–95, An optimal control model is used to derive estimable reduced form equations for forest loss, cocoa land, maize land and timber production, which are in turn functions of mainly input and output prices. Piecewise linear and switchi...

The articles in the issue provide important evidence for the acute effects of cocoa flavanols on the peripheral vascular response in humans. As Hollenberg and Luscher point out, ‘‘not only does flavanol-rich cocoa-induced nitric oxide production show a dramatic influence on blood vessels in healthy individuals, preliminary information available indicates that the influence on nitric oxide synth...

In this article we present lead concentrations and isotopic compositions from analyses of cocoa beans, their shells, and soils from six Nigerian cocoa farms, and analyses of manufactured cocoa and chocolate products. The average lead concentration of cocoa beans was </= 0.5 ng/g, which is one of the lowest reported values for a natural food. In contrast, lead concentrations of manufactured coco...

Abstract The primary objective of this study was to establish a current situation assessment of the possible occurrence of deoxynivalenol in cocoa and cocoa products. Since there was no analytic method for determining DON in cocoa and cocoa products, a special method was developed. The applicability and consistency of the method was confirmed by performing recovery assays on various cocoa produ...

We determined the in vitro inhibitory effects of cocoa extracts and procyanidins against pancreatic α-amylase (PA), pancreatic lipase (PL) and secreted phospholipase A2 (PLA2), and characterized the kinetics of such inhibition. Lavado, regular and Dutch-processed cocoa extracts as well as cocoa procyanidins (degree of polymerization (DP) = 2 to 10) were examined. Cocoa extracts and procyanidins...

A study was undertaken to determine whether cocoa swollen shoot virus is transmitted by seeds, to improve the robustness of quarantine procedures for international exchange and long term conservation of cocoa germplasm. PCR/capillary electrophoresis, using cocoa swollen shoot virus primers designed from the most conserved regions of the six published cocoa genome sequences, allowed the detectio...

The present work was carried out to study the mycobiota of cocoa beans from farm to chocolate. Four hundred and ninety-four samples were analyzed at various stages of cocoa processing: (i) primary stage at the farm (fermentation, drying, and storage), (ii) secondary stage at processing (testa, nibs, liquor, butter, cake and powder) and (iii) the final chocolate product (dark, milk, white and po...

Cocoa contains high levels of different flavonoids. In the present study, the enantioseparation of catechin and epicatechin in cocoa and cocoa products by chiral capillary electrophoresis (CCE) was performed. A baseline separation of the catechin and epicatechin enantiomers was achieved by using 0.1 mol x L(-1) borate buffer (pH 8.5) with 12 mmol x L(-1) (2-hydroxypropyl)-gamma-cyclodextrin as ...