Search results for "chocolate"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
Does dark chocolate have an ergogenic impact on emotional state, vegetative nervous system and strength performance?
2021
International audience; The aim of this research is to assess the acute effect of consuming a dark chocolate with lemon (DCL) bar on the emotional state, the vegetative nervous system, and strength performance. This protocol was carried out by eleven male trained cyclists and trail runners (age: 27 ± 12 years old), who tested, in random order, either DCL bar containing flavonoids or a white chocolate bar (placebo) before a simulated competition of knee extension force. Their precompetitive state anxiety (SA), blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), and electroencephalography (EEG) responses were measured before and after eating the bars. The maximal voluntary force (MVC) of the knee e…
Chocolates classification according to their volatile compounds fingerprints measured by PTR-ToF-MS
2017
Dark chocolates develop several organoleptic characteristics depending on cocoa origin, cocoa variety and fabrication process. These parameters influence the chemical composition of the chocolates, and among other components volatile organic compounds (VOCs) responsible for aroma mainly determine their sensory perception. Sensory evaluation is able to discriminate chocolates with various organoleptic properties. Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) is capable of monitoring VOCs released in foodstuffs headspace at ppb level in real time. But is PTR-MS able to discriminate chocolates as sensory analysis does? To answer this question, 192 dark chocolates produced from cocoa bean…
Polyphenol intake and cardiovascular risk factors in a population with type 2 diabetes: The TOSCA.IT study
2017
Background: The role of polyphenol intake on cardiovascular risk factors is little explored, particularly in people with diabetes. Aim: To evaluate the association between the intake of total polyphenols and polyphenol classes with the major cardiovascular risk factors in a population with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Dietary habits were investigated in 2573 males and females participants of the TOSCA.IT study. The European Prospective Investigation on Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire was used to assess dietary habits. In all participants, among others, we assessed anthropometry, plasma lipids, blood pressure, C-reactive protein and HbA1c following a standard protocol. The USDA and Ph…
Direct determination by portable ED-XRF of mineral profile in cocoa powder samples
2019
Abstract The present study has exploited the rapidity of the analysis and the multi-elemental capability of the energy dispersive X- ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) technique for the mineral profile determination in cocoa powder. A fast, cheap and environmental sustainable method without reagent consumption or toxic waste generation has been proposed. The samples can be prepared in the form of pellets of 13 mm in diameter and 2–3 mm thickness. The different internal calibrations used by ED-XRF equipment did not provide accurate results when comparing the mineral profile with the concentration obtained by Inductively Couple Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) after microwave assisted di…
Nutritional prevention of cognitive decline and dementia.
2018
Cognitive impairment results from a complex interplay of many factors. The most important independent predictor of cognitive decline is age but other contributing factors include demographic, genetic, socio-economic, and environmental parameters, including nutrition. The number of persons with cognitive decline and dementia will increase in the next decades in parallel with aging of the world population. Effective pharmaceutical treatments for age-related cognitive decline are lacking, emphasizing the importance of prevention strategies. There is extensive evidence supporting a relationship between diet and cognitive functions. Thus, nutritional approaches to prevent or slow cognitive decli…
Assessment of ecotoxicity and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions from food and children's toy products
2018
The development of new methods for identifying a broad spectrum of analytes, as well as highly selective tools to provide the most accurate information regarding the processes and relationships in the world, has been an area of interest for researchers for many years. The information obtained with these tools provides valuable data to complement existing knowledge but, above all, to identify and determine previously unknown hazards. Recently, attention has been paid to the migration of xenobiotics from the surfaces of various everyday objects and the resulting impacts on human health. Since children are among those most vulnerable to health consequences, one of the main subjects of interest…
Polyphenols, methylxanthines, fatty acids and minerals in cocoa beans and cocoa products
2019
In this study, the nutritional profile and some health benefit of three cocoa bean samples of different origins, including Perù, Ecuador (Criollo) and Ghana (Hybrid) and five samples of cocoa products from Criollo variety at different percentage of cocoa solids (from 70 to 100%), are investigated. The Ecuadorian beans were of the same batch used to obtain the chocolate samples (70% cocoa solids) by processing without conching. All samples were analyzed for their proximate composition, mineral content, fatty acids, total polyphenols, catechin, epicathechin theobromine and caffeine. Fatty acid profiles of the cocoa products were quite similar to those obtained in cocoa beans. The atherogenici…
Flavour release as a function of time in sugar matrices, in relation to the perception of their sweetness and taste
2002
Although instrumental or sensory analysis of food flavour profiles is often separated from gustatory studies, certain flavours may be classified as sweet, suggesting an interaction between flavour and aroma in sensory perception mechanisms. This paper contains information on the results of studies aimed at establishing dynamics of flavour and sweetness release in the course of their sensory perception during the mastication of sugar confectionery.
Effects of adding solid and molten chocolate on the physicochemical, antioxidant, microbiological, and sensory properties of ewe's milk cheese.
2020
Abstract: A novel dairy product, namely “chocolate cheese”, was produced with two typical Sicilian food products: Pecorino cheese, processed from ewe's milk, and Modica chocolate. The cheese, manufactured with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% (w/w) solid or molten chocolate, was evaluated after 0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks of vacuum storage for its nutritional and health properties. The addition of chocolate reduced the pH, protein, fat, and ash; the addition of 5% or 10% molten chocolate reduced hardness (N/mm2). The addition of either solid or molten chocolate resulted in a slight increase (P < 0.1038) in the total polyphenol content, a higher oleic acid content, and less oxidative stability. The microbio…
Effects of different emulsifiers and refining time on rheological and textural characteristics of compound chocolate
2018
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of producing reduced fat dark compound chocolate in the ball mill refiner and using some selected emulsifiers. The effects of selected emulsifiers including lecithin, Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and citrem in two levels and two refining times on the characteristics such as moisture, particle size, hardness and rheological properties of the samples was examined. Data analysis revealed that the Casson model was appropriate to describe the rheological behavior of the samples containing lecithin and citrem; however, Power law model was appropriate for the samples containing PGPR. The results showed that citrem is the most effe…