title: Application of 1H NMR for the characterisation of cocoa beans of different geographical origins and fermentation levels.
abstract: This study reports for the first time the use of (1)H NMR technique combined with chemometrics to study the metabolic profile of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) beans of different varieties, origin and fermentation levels. Results of PCA applied to cocoa bean (1)H NMR dataset showed that the main factor influencing the cocoa bean metabolic profile is the fermentation level. In fact well fermented brown beans form a group clearly separated from unfermented, slaty, and underfermented, violet, beans, independently of the variety or geographical origin. Considering only well fermented beans, the metabolic profile obtained by (1)H NMR permitted to discriminate between some classes of samples. The National cocoa of Ecuador, known as Arriba, showed the most peculiar characteristics, while the samples coming from the African region showed some similar traits. The dataset obtained, representative of all the classes of soluble compounds of cocoa, was therefore useful to characterise fermented cocoa beans as a function of their origin and fermentation level.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17A, 43124 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: augusta.caligiani@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Augusta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caligiani
authors.affiliation: MRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke's Hospital, CB2 0QQ, Hills Road, Cambridge, UK; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palla
authors.affiliation: Centro Interdipartimentale Misure, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 23A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acquotti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marseglia
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17A, 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palla
mesh_terms: D002099:Cacao / Q000737:chemistry*; D005285:Fermentation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
keywords: (1)H NMR; Cocoa beans; Fermentation level; Geographical origin; Metabolic profile; PCA; Variety