Search results for "chocolate"

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…

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…

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…

EFFECT OF ADDING SOLID AND MOLTEN CHOCOLATE ON THE POLYPHENOL CONTENT, CHEMICAL, TEXTURAL, MICROBIOLOGICAL AND SENSORY ASPECTS OF PECORINO SICILIANO …

In this project we used two specific food products, which are typically Sicilian, Pecorino Siciliano cheese and Modica chocolate, that have unique texture and taste. “Chocolate cheese” is produced with the aim of increasing the consumption of cheese especially among children, targeting the purpose of improving public health. In this research we investigated chocolate cheese including solid and molten chocolate in three levels of 5%, 10% and 15% at four ripening times (T0 = fresh, T1 = 2 weeks, T2 = 4 weeks and T3 = 6 weeks). The results showed that the addition of chocolate significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased the pH, ash and protein content of the Pecorino Siciliano cheese, whereas it had no…

Microencapsulation of Phenolic Extracts from Cocoa Shells to Enrich Chocolate Bars

2021

AbstractCocoa bean shells were subjected to green extraction technologies, based on the absence of toxic organic solvents, to recover polyphenols; the extract was then encapsulated using a spray dryer and maltodextrin as coating agent. The best conditions observed in the spray drying tests (core-to-coating ratio 1:5; inlet temperature 150 °C; flow rate 6 ml min−1) were applied to produce the microcapsules used to enrich the same cocoa mass as the shells and processed for the preparation of the chocolate bars. Sensory analysis showed no significant differences between enriched chocolate bar and the unenriched reference one, except for the appearance. Both samples were then subjected to accel…

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…

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…

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.

Dark chocolates organoleptic differences: a PTR-ToF-MS success story

2019

International audience; Aroma of dark chocolate depends on process and cocoa origin and variety. Repeated sensory analyses of standardized chocolates produced from various cocoa beans batches using a standard fabrication process allowed classifying them into four sensory categories. These categories were confirmed in a PTR-ToF-MS analysis of the volatilome of 206 chocolate samples through supervised multivariate data analyses (PLS-DA). Variable selection using dedicated methods pinpointed some volatile compounds important for the discrimination of the chocolates. Moreover, the nosespace of a subset of chocolates was measured by twelve assessors using PTR-ToF-MS with simultaneous determinati…