Sensory Characteristics, Acceptability and Dietary Fiber of Brownies

Produced from Theobroma Cacao Shell Flour

Denise Ann Banaira and Aimee Sheree Barrion

Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Keywords: Cacao Shell Innovation, Cacao Waste, Cacao Shell, Cacao Dietary Fiber.

Abstract: According to statistics, around 4,000,000 tons of cocoa mass is produced annually for the mass production of

cocoa, and about 114,000 tons are the wastes incurred from cacao shells. Several studies have found high

contents in certain nutrients in these shells. Particularly for its fiber content, it has been found that around 50-

60% of the cacao shells consists of the total dietary fiber. This study reconciles the wastes produced from

cocoa production, specifically shell wastes, and its high significant dietary fiber levels. It further aims to

produce brownies with flour from pulverized cacao shells which would then be evaluated for acceptability

and analyzed for dietary fiber content. In doing so, a recipe was tried thrice applying the modifications of

predetermined ratio of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Sensory Characteristics Evaluation and Acceptability was

conducted to 41 conveniently sampled panelists. Results were statistically analyzed using One-Way Analysis

of Variance (ANOVA) to determine significant differences among ratings, and if significant, was further

analyzed through Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference Test. The Dietary Fiber content was measured

through the AOAC and AACC Methods which was statistically analyzed through ANOVA and Linear

Regression. Results for sensory evaluation showed that 25% was the most preferred ratio, followed by 75%,

50% and then 100% as the least preferred while the dietary fiber content was found to be increasing as the

percentage of cacao shell flour increases. Overall, 75% was the most acceptable due to its relatively high

preference and high dietary fiber content.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

Chocolate industry has been on the rise for many

years and demands does not seem to fluctuate, and

cocoa made it possible for chocolate products to

flourish in the market. Chocolate is produced from the

Theobroma cacao (cacao) tree. The beginning of

chocolate or cacao domestication has been discovered

around 3000 years ago, predominant in areas with

warm climates and high humidity (Gibson, 2018). For

the past decade, the total worldwide production of

cocoa can roughly be estimated around 4 million tons

according to statistics (Statista, 2019 & International

Cocoa Organization, 201). Production of cocoa is

abundant in tropical countries all around the world

but more significantly in the areas of South America,

Africa and Southeast Asia.

The cacao fruit houses the seed of the plant

covered in mucilaginous pulp

. In the production of

cocoa used in chocolate industry, harvesting,

fermenting, drying, roasting and winnowing are parts

of the process of obtaining the cocoa mass used. The

harvesting of the fruit is identified through the color

of its pod husk which is the first waste in this process.

Then, it is followed by fermenting the cacao seed with

its pulp in which the pulp will be separated from the

seeds. Seeds are dried usually under the sun, roasted,

and then winnowed. Roasting maintains the intrinsic

flavor developed from fermentation. After

winnowing, cacao nibs are obtained leaving behind

wastes in form of cacao shells. (Gibson, 2018 & de

Souza et. al., 2018)

1.2 Related Literature

Cocoa and its parts consist of many nutrients

unknown to even exist in them. Several studies found

that cocoa actually has high levels for dietary fiber.

The compounds that give cocoa this property is

present in all parts of the cocoa (Azizah et. al., 1997).

However, the different parts of cocoa vary in the

nutrient content that they possess. Cocoa beans are

Banaira, D. and Barrion, A.

Sensory Characteristics, Acceptability and Dietary Fiber of Brownies Produced from Theobroma cacao Shell Flour.

DOI: 10.5220/0009983600002964

In Proceedings of the 16th ASEAN Food Conference (16th AFC 2019) - Outlook and Opportunities of Food Technology and Culinary for Tourism Industry, pages 241-250

ISBN: 978-989-758-467-1

241

the widely used part of the cacao plant. Lecumberri

et. al. (2006) identified in their study that the cocoa

beans has 60% dietary fiber content of the dry weight-

- where approximately 17% of this is soluble dietary

fiber (SDF) while the remaining 83% is the insoluble

dietary fiber (IDF). In a separate study on the

chemical comparison between cocoa beans and

coffee beans, it was discovered that cocoa beans

contain the about 17% crude fiber (Oyeyemi, 2017).

In addition, Martinez et. al. (2012) determined in

their study that the total dietary fiber (TDF) in the

cocoa pod husk is approximately at 56%, and that

around 95% consists of IDF while the remaining 5%

consists of the SDF.

Cocoa production especially those catered for

mass-production entails a lot of process which

involves unusable losses or wastes. In cocoa

processing and chocolate production, excellent

quality of cocoa beans depends on the extent that the

shell is removed from the cocoa nib as it contributes

to undesirable taste and texture to the final product

(Okiyama et. al., 2016). Indonesia is considered as

one of the tops producers of cocoa globally. With this,

a research computed that waste from cocoa bean

shells accounted in Indonesia alone for the year of

2009 was around 1700 to 1800 tons, based on the data

percent composition of cocoa products as related to

statistical values (Djali, 2017). In the Philippines,

about 6,200 tons of cocoa mass is produced (Gibson,

2018)

meaning that the shell waste from this amounts

to roughly 155 tons. According to the International

Cacao Organization (2018), the cocoa production

estimates in 2016 to 2017 peaked to around 4,400,000

tons which means that around 114,000 tons should

constitute the wastes from cocoa shells.

Cocoa shells are found to be consisted mostly of

dietary fiber. In a study on different chemical

component of the cocoa waste products, it was

determined that cocoa shell is composed of 51-55%

TDF (Martinez et. al., 2012). Approximately 74% of

it is IDF and approximately 26% consists of SDF.

Okiyama et. al. (2016) compared several studies on

the identification of dietary fiber content of the cocoa

shell, and confirmed that in three studies, it was

consistent that a kilogram of cocoa shells contains a

range of 500 to 600 grams of dietary fiber which

means at least half to more than half of the cocoa

shells is composed of the dietary fiber. However, in a

study conducted by Redgewell and colleagues,

showed indication of overestimation of the TDF in

cocoa shells due to presence of “Klason Lignin”

although they have identified through the AOAC

method that TDF, IDF and SDF is 63.6%, 51.9% and

11.7% of the dry weight of the cocoa shell,

respectively. Additionally, according to the in vitro

model systems study conducted, the fiber from cocoa

beans shells has the capacity to diffuse and adsorb

glucose, hydrolyze starch, and bind sodium cholate,

oil and cholesterol (Nsor-Atindana, 2012). In a

similar study, Sanchez et. al. (2012) discovered in

their study that rats fed with 5% cocoa shell-enriched

diet showed decreased risks for cardiometabolic

diseases as manifested by less weight associated with

low food intake, lower values of total cholesterol,

triglycerides and blood pressure, and lower insulin

resistance.

Application of the utilization of the wastes

incurred from cocoa are very diverse. Most of these

applications focus on the well-known characteristics

which high fiber content of cocoa wastes particularly

cocoa shells. Other applications revolve around its

antioxidative properties, and cocoa wastes were also

used as food additive. One study took advantage of

the cocoa shell and made a fat replacer from the

extraction of the soluble fibers and was used in baking

chocolate muffins (Martinez-Cervera, 2011). This

study showed positive results with feedback mostly

focused on the texture that the cocoa shell brings into

the product. Only a certain amount of oil should be

replaced with the extracted soluble fiber to ensure

nutritional content which then results to overall

acceptability. In their comparison of the different

cocoa shell applications, Okiyama et. al. (2016)

mentioned another study which concluded that about

6% of the added soluble fiber from cocoa shells is the

acceptable considering all aspects. Currently, in the

University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB),

scientists have found a way to turn cocoa pod husk

into a nutritious food supplement (de Jesus, 2017)

since cocoa wastes have been found to contain high

nutritional value especially for dietary fiber (Nsor-

Atindana et.al., 2012 & Sanchez, et. al., 2010). UPLB

National Institute of Molecular Biology and

Biotechnology further focused on addressing this

concerns as large amounts of these waste products

tend to be put away and disposed. Other application

of the cocoa wastes include use as food additive for

additional food flavoring and intermediate

ingredients in functional foods. In the non-human

application of the cocoa wastes, it is currently being

used as additive to feeds of certain animals, natural

fertilizer for the crops and biomass and biogas

support. Indeed, it has been shown that there are lots

of potential for the utilization of wastes of the cocoa

industry.

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1.3 Research Objectives

In this study, the concerns regarding waste product

from cocoa production shall be addressed in such way

that it will tackle how such by-products could be

transformed as a consumable food item. Another

point is that a dietary fiber food source is not

optimized due to the lack of ways to convert cocoa

production wastes, particularly cacao shell, into a

more acceptable food product. With this, cacao shells

can then become a possible cheap source of dietary

fiber. The research aims to produce flour from

pulverized cacao shell which will then be used as an

ingredient in baking brownies, and to measure the

acceptability of these brownies along with its dietary

fiber content. Specifically, this study aims to (1) bake

brownies using cacao shell flour at different

percentage variations; (2) determine which cacao

flour percentage variation is the most acceptable

through sensory evaluation; and (3) compare

differences of dietary content between the brownies

made with cacao shell flour than those of made with

ordinary flour.

1.4 Scope and Limitations

The study was conducted from March to May 2019 at

the Bio-Assay Laboratory of the Institute of Human

Nutrition and Food at the University of the

Philippines Los Baños in Laguna. Cacao shell

samples were collected from Lipa City, Batangas.

The research focused on producing flour from cocoa

food waste, used it in baking brownie, and measured

its dietary fiber content. It aimed to address cocoa

waste production from a barangay in the city of Lipa,

Batangas, Barangay Bolbok, since this specific

community has tablea (native cocoa nibs) production

as one of their main livelihood job. Since the study is

only limited to a specific community in Lipa City, it

covered Theobroma cacao variety available in that

area. In addition to that, this study only focused on

producing one baked product- brownie. It also aimed

to measure the nutrient content of the brownie but

only limited to within dietary fiber content. In terms

of methodology for product development, the steps

performed were lacking. Instead of having a formal

sensory evaluation for each trial of the recipe trial, the

evaluation was informally done by providing

characteristic comments for each product. With this,

the acceptability for the successful recipe have no

quantitative gauge since it relies more on qualitative

basis.

2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Sample Collection and Processing

The raw material to be used in the production of the

cocoa flour came from the barangay of Bolbok in

Lipa City, Batangas. This community has tablea

production as one of their livelihoods, which means

that as they produce cocoa mass for tablea, they incur

waste from cocoa shells. Cocoa shells are obtained as

by-product from roasting cacao beans before it is

grinded. These were obtained from the small-scale

cocoa roasters.

The cocoa shells’ raw material was washed to get

rid of physical contaminants and then dried using the

dehydrator to remove the additional moisture caused

by washing procedure. The shells were grinded finely

to achieve powder-like flour samples using a grinder.

A commercial grinder was used to grind large

amounts of cocoa shell. After that, the obtained flour

was sifted, and the large particles were further

pulverized by the spice and herb grinder to achieve

the flour-like powder form. The mentioned

equipment was available at Bio-Assay Laboratory in

the Institute of Human Nutrition and Food.

2.2 Brownie Production

The flour from the cacao shell was then used to make

a bakery product particularly a brownie since it was

accounted that cacao shell produced a bitter taste.

Therefore, incorporating it in a chocolate-flavored

product can bask in that undesirable taste. In making

the baked product, a recipe was adopted and

modified. Five predetermined setups were utilized in

the study: control setup with no modifications; first

setup was substituted with 25% shell flour; second

setup was substituted with 50% shell flour; third setup

was substituted with 75% shell flour; and fourth was

substituted with 100% shell flour. All the recipes of

the setups were standardized first to test out the

palatability of the setups. After three recipe trials, the

final recipe for the brownie was generated, applying

the necessary adjustments. The brownie then

underwent sensory evaluation for its characteristics

and acceptability.

2.3 Sensory Evaluation of Brownies

2.3.1 General Procedure

The brownies produced from shell flour was tested

for evaluation of sensory characteristics and

acceptability. This measured the acceptability of the

Sensory Characteristics, Acceptability and Dietary Fiber of Brownies Produced from Theobroma cacao Shell Flour

243

characteristics of the product in comparison to

percentage of shell flour that it contains and identify

which percentage variation is the most acceptable.

Forty-one students were randomly selected through

convenience sampling to participate in the study, and

they were asked to accomplish informed consent

forms. The sensory evaluation forms used a 7-point

hedonic scale for the general attributes such as taste,

appearance, aroma and texture. The best and least

sample were also asked in the latter part of the

questionnaire along with recommendations and

suggestions. After collating the responses, the results

were statistically analyzed through the appropriate

statistical analysis.

2.3.2 Statistical Analysis of Sensory

Evaluation

The following statistical analyses were performed to

answer the objectives of the study in determining the

acceptability of the brownies made from cacao shell

flour. Two statistical analyses were done for this to be

possible-- namely the One-way Analysis of Variance

(ANOVA) and Tukey’s Honest Significant

Difference (HSD) Test.

One-way Analysis of Variance is a statistical

analysis which aims to determine if there is difference

in the response variables across a pre-determined set

of treatments through observation of means and

variances. This statistical analysis tests the null

hypothesis that there is no difference in the means of

the response variable across treatments. In this study,

one-way ANOVA will be used to determine if there

is difference in the mean rating of the brownies'

characteristics across the percentage of flour used. If

the p-value obtained for the characteristics is less than

0.005, it was concluded that the mean rating for each

characteristic among variations was significant.

Tukey’s HSD Test is a test for pairwise mean

difference. This is a consequent test to the one-way

Analysis of Variance in which it is performed if the

one-way ANOVA is found to be significant. It

determined which of the treatment(s) used tend(s) to

yield the most desirable values of the response

variable. The Tukey’s HSD Test was used to identify

which brownies from a specific percentage of flour

used obtained the highest characteristic rating. These

two analysis techniques were used for each

characteristic that was asked to the respondents.

Subsequently, the treatment which were found to

have the highest rating in each characteristic was

recorded. The results from this test was summarized

to identify which garnered the highest points and was

then ranked accordingly.

2.4 Dietary Fiber Analysis of Brownie

For the analysis of the dietary fiber content of the

Brownie, the control was compared to the rest of the

modified Brownie product. This was aimed to

validate the increase in dietary fiber in brownies when

the cacao shell flour percentage was increased. The

moisture content of the treatments was first

determined by measuring the weight of the samples

before and after drying them using the hot air oven

overnight for about 18 hours. In analyzing the dietary

fiber content of the product, AOAC Method was

utilized to determine the insoluble dietary fiber,

soluble dietary fiber and eventually the total dietary

fiber. Calculations were based on the Assay

Procedure of the Megazyme Kit in which the sample

underwent series of filtration, washing and

precipitation to obtain the weight for the fiber

(Megazyme, 2017). To test if data obtained is

statistically sound, the data will undergo ANOVA

and HSD Tukey’s Test to identify significance, and

Linear Regression to further determine the

differences.

3 RESULTS

3.1 Flour Amount Identification

In the brownie production, three trials were done to

account different comments and suggestions from

evaluators. The use of the all-purpose flour and cacao

shell flour ratio was also identified from

predetermined percentages. The needed amount for

the recipe is one-fourth cup, which is equivalent to 4

tablespoons, so the amount of substitution is

identified using this unit. The control needed four

tablespoon of AP flour and no cacao flour; 25%

treatment needed three tablespoon of AP flour and

one tablespoon of cacao flour; 50% treatment needed

two tablespoon AP flour and two tablespoon cacao

flour; 75% treatment needed one tablespoon AP flour

and three tablespoon cacao flour; and 100% treatment

needed no AP flour and four tablespoon cacao flour

(Table 1).

Table 1: Amount of modification of different flour ratio

according to setup.

Treatment

All-Purpose

Flour (Tbsp)

Cacao Flour

(Tbsp)

Control 4 0

25% 3 1

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Table 1: Amount of modification of different flour ratio

according to setup. (Cont.)

Treatment

All-Purpose

Flour

(

Tbs

Cacao Flour

(

Tbs

50% 2 2

75% 1 3

100% 0 4

3.2 General Profile of Population

The Sensory Characteristics and Acceptability was

done through an evaluation with a total of 41

respondents which were identified to be all students

of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Out

of these 41 people, 31 were female and their mean age

was 20.42 years, while 10 were male and their mean

age was 20.10 years. Overall, the mean age of the 41

participants was 20.34 years.

The number of votes for different variations as the

least preferred and most preferred were counted. The

highest preference with 16 votes was for the control

variation; followed by the 25% and 50% variations

with 7 votes each; followed by 75% variation with 6

votes; and lastly by 100% variation with 5 votes. The

least preference with 18 votes was for 100%

variation; followed by 50% variation with 12 votes;

followed by the control variation with 5 votes;

followed by 75% variation with 4 votes; and lastly by

25% variation with 2 votes.

3.3 General Characteristics and

Acceptability

The evaluation of the sensory characteristics and

general acceptability of the brownie product

variations computed for the mean ratings for each

characteristics and acceptability among variations

(Table 2). Disregarding the control setup who

garnered the most points, 25% variation ranked as the

most acceptable with a rating of 6.14 while 100%

ranked as the least acceptable with a rating of 5.20.

Also, the standard deviation was shown to depict

discrepancies and 25% treatment showed less varied

response while 100% treatment showed most varied

response.

3.4 Statistical Results of Sensory

Evaluation

In the statistical analysis of the sensory characteristics

of different brownie products, the total mean squares

and their p-values were obtained to show which

characteristics have shown significant differences.

Aroma showed insignificant differences with a P-

value of 0.3268 which is within the significance limit

(<0.05). On the other hand, appearance, texture and

flavor have P-values of 0.0050, 0.0412 and <0.0001,

respectively which are all within the significance

limit (Table 3).

Table 2: Mean and standard deviation of ratings for sensory characteristics and general acceptability evaluation.

CHARACTERISTICS Control 25% 50% 75% 100%

Appearance 5.83 + 0.97 5.59 + 1.12 5.59 + 0.87 5.39 + 1.12 5.44 + 1.98

Aroma 5.95 + 0.95 5.78 + 0.79 5.54 + 1.03 5.68 + 1.06 5.12 + 1.25

Texture 6.05 + 0.89 5.71 + 0.90 5.71 + 0.90 5.63 + 1.09 5.44 + 1.12

Flavor 6.12 + 0.78 5.51 + 0.98 5.51 + 0.98 5.51 + 1.05 4.90 + 1.16

General Acceptability 6.14 + 0.69 5.78 + 0.72 5.78 + 0.98 5.56 + 0.90 5.20 + 1.17

Table 3: P-values of sensory characteristics and their rankings based on Tukey’s HSD Test.

TREATMENT

RANKING PER CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL

TOTAL

OVERALL

RANK

Aroma

(

0.3268

)

Appearance

(

0.0050

)

Texture

(

0.0412

)

Flavor

(

<0.0001

)

Control 3.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 6.5 1

25% 3.0 1.5 3.0 3.0 10.5 2

50% 3.0 3.5 5.0 3.0 14.5 4

75% 3.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 12.5 3

100% 3.0 5 3.0 5.0 16.0 5

Sensory Characteristics, Acceptability and Dietary Fiber of Brownies Produced from Theobroma cacao Shell Flour

245

The sensory characteristics with significant

figures were subjected to Tukey’s Honest Significant

Difference (HSD) Test. Results for appearance

showed that 25% treatment is the most preferred

followed by 75% and 50% treatment while the least

preferred is the 100% treatment. As for the results for

texture, it showed that all treatments were highly

preferred except for the 50% treatment. The result for

flavor showed that 50% showed the highest

preference followed by 25% and 75% treatment while

the least preferred is the 100% treatment. As

summarized (Table 3), it can be observed that upon

considering all characteristics of the different

brownie variation while also disregarding the control

setup, 25% cacao shell flour treatment ranked the

highest followed by the 75% treatment then by the

50% treatment while the 100% treatment remain the

lowest.

For the moisture and dietary fiber composition of

the brownie products, it was found that moisture

content decreases while dietary fiber content

increases as the percentage of cacao shell flour is also

increased (Table 4). The insoluble dietary fiber

content for the control, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%

treatments are at 0.58%, 0.82%, 1.04%, 1.30% and

1.41%, respectively. The soluble dietary fiber

content for the control, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%

treatments are at 1.34%, 182%, 2.34%, 2.92% and

3.49%, respectively. With this, it is obvious that there

is an apparent increasing pattern as well for the total

dietary fiber. This model was determined to be

significant using the ANOVA as it has shown a p-

value within the limit (<0.0001) and was further

verified by Tukey’s Test for Honest Significance in

which no percentages were identified similar.



In summary for the total dietary fiber content

(Table 5), the coefficients for different cacao shell

flour variations were identified. This value indicates

the increase in total dietary fiber content across

different cacao shell flour variation assuming the

setup with no cacao shell flour is the baseline. This

means that compared to the pure all-purpose flour

brownie, an increase of 25% cacao shell flour would

mean an increase in total dietary fiber by 0.7467%.

The same goes with the following variations; 50%

variation will have a 1.4633% increase; 75%

variation will have a 2.3033% increase; and 100%

variation will have a 2.9833% increase. This model

was considered significant as supported by the p-

value of less than 0.001 (<0.001) which is within the

<0.05 limit. Indeed, this shows that cacao shells

contain quite significant amounts of dietary fiber as

seen in the increase that occurs with its presence in

the recipe.

In this study, the average weight for a serving (9-

sq. inch) of brownie is computed to be approximately

92 grams. Given the weight and computed dietary

fiber percentage content of a brownie, the actual

weight of the dietary fiber in the brownie was

computed (Table 6). In here, the base treatment which

was the control was identified to contain only 1.77

grams of total dietary. The 25% treatment contained

2.46 grams while 50% treatment contained 3.11

grams of total dietary fiber. Furthermore, the 75%

treatment contained 3.88 grams dietary fiber while

the 100% treatment contained 4.51 grams of dietary

fiber. The values of each brownie were then

compared to the different recommended nutrient

intake (RNI) for dietary fiber per age group to identify

its contribution to daily intake. For 6-9 years old, the

25%, 50%, 75% and 100% treatments have percent

daily values of 12.6%, 17.5%, 22.2%, 27.7% and

32.2% respectively. For 10-12 years old, the 25%,

50%, 75% and 100% treatments have percent daily

values of 10.4%, 14.5%, 18.3%, 22.8% and 26.5%

respectively. For 13-15 years old, the 25%, 50%, 75%

and 100% treatments have percent daily values of

8.9%, 12.3%, 15.6%, 19.4% and 22.6% respectively.

For 16-18 years old, the 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%

treatments have percent daily values of 7.7%, 10.7%,

13.5%, 16.9%, 19.6% respectively. For Adults and

Elderly,

the 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% treatments

have percent daily values of 7.1%, 9.8%, 12.4%,

15.5% and 18.0% respectively. From this data, it can

be observed that the treated setups have relatively

higher percentages of dietary fiber compared to the

normal product in the form of the control.

Specifically, most of them are considered high since

their values range from 10% and above.

Overall, the brownies from cacao shell flour have

acceptable characteristics while its dietary fiber are

higher than a brownie produced purely from all-

purpose flour.

4 DISCUSSION

The sensory evaluation was the first part done to

determine as to whether the brownie product has

acceptable characteristics. Participants of the

evaluation were found to be around 18 to 29 years

(average age of 20.34) which implies that respondents

are within the young adult age group. The results

from the evaluation generally showed that as cacao

shell flour increased, the preference for the

brownie

decreases. However, given the values of the mean

ratings per characteristics (Table 2), it can be further

noted that the products are within the range of

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Table 4: Percentage content for moisture and the dietary fiber across different brownie variations.

TREATMENT

Moisture Content

(%)

Insoluble Dietary

Fiber (%)

Soluble Dietary

Fiber (%)

Total Dietary Fiber

(%)

Control 12.61+1.14 0.58+0.01 1.34+0.02 1.97+0.02

25% 10.40+1.05 0.82+0.02 1.85+0.02 2.67+0.03

50% 10.27+1.09 1.04+0.22 2.34+0.02 3.38+0.02

75% 8.86+0.45 1.03+0.02 2.92+0.03 4.22+0.05

100% 9.53+0.80 1.41+0.23 3.49+0.03 4.90+0.25

Table 5: Summary of the coefficients and p-values of the dietary fiber content across the different cacao shell flour percentage

variations of the brownies.

Variables

Control as the baseline

Coefficient Standard Error t-statistics P-value

25% 0.7467 0.0930 8.02 <0.001

50% 1.4633 0.0930 15.73 <0.001

75% 2.3033 0.0930 24.75 <0.001

100% 2.9833 0.0930 32.06 <0.001

(Intercept) 1.9200 0.0658 29.18 <0.001

P-value of the model: <0.001 (F statistic: 327.13)

“slightly like” to “like”. This means that although

there is a decreased preference for the increasing

cacao shell flour ratio, all brownie variations are

acceptable but with 25% treatment with less varied

response while 100% treatment with the most varied

responses. In the statistical analysis, a slightly

different ranking was obtained since all aspects were

considered.

These results can be better explained by

associating the sensory characteristics with the age

group of the respondents. The age range of the study

are within the young adult age group. According to

the comments from the evaluators, the product is

characterized by a mixture of sweet, bitter and sour

taste with a bit of residual texture. A study showed

that texture or the mouthfeel contributes to picky

eating behaviors of young adults just like among

children (Nederkoorn et. al., 2019). In another

perspective, it was determined that among

adolescents and young adults, bitter taste is the least

preferred taste while sour taste is perceived as an

unpleasant taste

(Hoffman et. al., 2016) which can

gradually turn into liking as adulthood progresses.

The age group of the population of this study may

have explained the reason behind the low preference

for the increased percentage of cacao shell flour.

However, it is important to note that this population

was accidentally determined. Given this information,

it can be assumed that preference for high cacao shell

flour brownie was not as favorable due to the flavor

and texture of the product.

On the other hand, the dietary fiber determination

was the second part of this study. From the results,

there is an increasing pattern with increasing cacao

shell flour percentage. With this, it can be assumed

that the total dietary fiber of the different brownie

variations consists more of the soluble dietary fiber

rather than the insoluble dietary fiber (Table 4). This

differs from the studies conducted on dietary fiber

composition of cacao shells

. Although this

difference may be attributed to the presence of other

food ingredients in the brownie, it is also important to

note that no changes in proportion occurred even if

the other flour component is decreased which can

mean that the cacao shell itself may have contributed

to the brownie as well. As for the statistical analysis

of these results, it was determined that it showed

significant values which means that the increase in

dietary fiber across variations were indeed different

from one another (Table 5).

Sensory Characteristics, Acceptability and Dietary Fiber of Brownies Produced from Theobroma cacao Shell Flour

247

Table 6: Recommended nutrient intake (RNI) across different ages and percent daily values (%DV) of the treated brownies.

Brownie

Setup

Dietary

Fiber

Content (g)

6-9 years old

% DV

10-12 years old

% DV

13-15 years old

% DV

16-18 years old

% DV

Adults &

Elderly

% DV

RNI: 14.0 g RNI: 17.0 g RNI: 20.0 g RNI: 23.0 g RNI: 25.0 g

Control 1.77 12.6 10.4 8.9 7.7 7.1

25% 2.46 17.5 14.5 12.3 10.7 9.8

50% 3.11 22.2 18.3 15.6 13.5 12.4

75% 3.88 27.7 22.8 19.4 16.9 15.5

100% 4.51 32.2 26.5 22.6 19.6 18.0

Table 7: Percent daily values of different variations across age groups and their classification.

SETUP

6-9 years old 10-12 years old 13-15 years old 16-18 years old Adults & Elderly

%DV Class %DV Class %DV Class %DV Class %DV Class

Control 12.6 Good 10.4 Good 8.9 - 7.7 - 7.1 -

25% 17.5 Good 14.5 Good 12.3 Good 10.7 Good 9.8 -

50% 22.2 Rich 18.3 Good 15.6 Good 13.5 Good 12.4 Good

75% 27.7 Rich 22.8 Rich 19.4 Good 16.9 Good 15.5 Good

100% 32.2 Rich 26.5 Rich 22.6 Rich 19.6 Good 18.0 Good

As for the nutritional significance of the product,

the percent daily values of each variations showed

significant results (Table 6). According to the guide

for Nutrition Labelling of the Food and Drug

Administration in the United States

(2013), a food

serving containing at least 10% of the daily values for

a nutrient are considered as good sources while at

least 20% of the daily values are considered for rich

sources. With this assumption, the claims for the

brownie product are observed. Results shows that

compared to the normal brownie (control), a modified

(cacao shell flour) brownie are better sources of

dietary fiber as evidenced by good and rich sources

classifications according to the FDA. Indeed, the

product made from cacao shell flour are better when

it comes to dietary fiber content.

5 CONCLUSION

Overall, the study on the sensory characteristics and

general acceptability of the brownie from cacao shell

flour was able to (1) produce brownies from

predetermined percentages of cacao shell flour; (2)

evaluate the sensory characteristics and general

acceptability of the product from 41 respondents

which were identified to be within the young adult

age group; and (3) identify significant differences in

dietary content of the brownies across the

percentages. The brownies are identified as

acceptable since the general ratings for the variations

of brownies were determined to range from “slightly

like” to “like”. More specifically, disregarding the

control, the descending acceptability of the variations

are as follows: 25%, 75%, 50% and then 100%. As

for the differences in dietary content of the brownies,

the increase in dietary fiber were 0.7467%, 1.4633%,

2.3033% and 2.9833% for flour variation increase by

25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, respectively.

In conclusion, considering all factors, the most

acceptable cacao shell flour percentage is the 75%

variation. Even though it ranked second for the

sensory evaluation, its high dietary fiber content

contributed the most since it ranked to have the

second highest dietary fiber while 25% variation only

ranked fourth. For a 90-gram serving of a brownie,

this percentages can be classified as rich source of

dietary fiber for school-aged children (6 to 12 years

old), and as good source of dietary fiber for the older

groups. From this study, cacao shell flour is a feasible

flour substitute with higher content of dietary fiber.

Preferences for the cacao shell flour are varied but is

within acceptable levels as evidenced by mean ratings

16th AFC 2019 - ASEAN Food Conference

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of all variations. Consumers may benefit from this

since dietary fiber functions in several health

maintenance mechanisms especially in the nutrient

digestion and absorption, and in preventing

occurrence of certain cardiovascular diseases

(Riccioni et. al., 2012 & Carlson, et. al., 2011).

6 RECOMMENDATION

In the future, this study can serve as basis for studies

on usability of cacao shell flour. It can specifically

target more about its nutrient content aside from the

dietary fiber itself. Other than that, for baking, its

gluten content can be determined to identify its

capabilities and quality as flour for other pastries or

baked product. Furthermore, cacao shells can be

explored more as studies in this aspect are rare. Cacao

shell has shown great potential for dietary fiber which

might be beneficial in the future. Research on its

toxicity is feasible as well to balance out its benefits

with probable harmful effects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to express their gratitude

to the local producers of tablea (native cocoa product)

in Lipa City, Batangas who have been one of the

inspirations in conducting this study on cacao wastes

particularly the shells. They would also like to extend

their gratefulness to those who compose the Institute

of Human Nutrition and Food at the University of the

Philippines Los Baños; their unending support made

these things possible. Of course, the researchers

would also like to express their appreciation to their

family and friends, for their unfaltering understanding

and support. Above all, praise and thanksgiving are

for the almighty God.

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