Cocoa bean processing and its beneficial compounds
What it found
Cocoa beans contain many bioactive compounds linked to various biological activities, but current processing tends to break these compounds down while building flavor.
The authors say processing needs to change to keep more of them.
What they found
Studies in people and animals
Biological activities reported
These cocoa chemicals have been linked to many biological activities in lab tests and in living things, such as antioxidation, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, anti-inflammation, anti-diabetes, cardiovascular protection, physical improvement, anti-photoaging, anti-depression and blood glucose regulation.
Other findings
Compounds in cocoa beans
Cocoa beans contain a special mix of nutrients including fats, carbohydrates, proteins and other active compounds. The bioactive plant chemicals include methylxanthines, polyphenols, biogenic amines, melanoidins, isoprostanoids and oxalates.
Processing breaks down compounds
Current processing technology promotes the breakdown of beneficial bioactive compounds while maximizing flavors and their precursors. It is not set up to make the most of cocoa beans for healthy product recipes.
Need for new processing
The authors say changes to the current processing line and non-conventional processing are needed to better preserve and use the beneficial bioactive compounds in cocoa beans.
What the authors conclude
“The current processing technology promotes the degradation of beneficial bioactive compounds, while maximizing the flavors and its precursors.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the potential of bioactive compounds in cocoa remains to be maximized for food and nutritional applications.
- They advise that modifications of the current processing line and non-conventional processing are needed to better preserve and utilize the beneficial bioactive compounds in cocoa beans.
How it was done
There is growing interest in using cocoa beans for food products marketed for health, and the authors wanted to see how processing affects the beneficial compounds in cocoa beans.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of chemical and biological properties, not a study in people.
- It cannot show how much of these compounds a person actually gets from eating cocoa products.
- It cannot show whether changes to processing would lead to health benefits in people.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Auckland, New Zealand; Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI), Indonesia; Canadian Food and Wine Institute, Canada
The paper
- Title
- Chemical and biological properties of cocoa beans affected by processing: a review
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Febrianto NA, Wang S, Zhu F (2022). Chemical and biological properties of cocoa beans affected by processing: a review. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition. doi:10.1080/10408398.2021.1928597PubMed 34047627DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error