In Brazil, after the witch's broom disease incidence, diverse cocoa hybrids were developed, and variations were reported on their composition and characteristics. Based on this, the present study aimed to evaluate the pulp composition of several cocoa hybrids in order to better understand these variations. Results show that cocoa pulp is composed, on average, of 76 % sugar, and a wide variation (20 %) was observed in sugar content between hybrids. Regarding the sugar profile, a prevalence of reducing sugars was observed. Pod origin also plays an important role in pulp composition, with variations between hybrids from Espírito Santo and Bahia states. In relation to the degree of ripeness, ripe pods showed higher fructose and glucose content, while unripe pods presented mainly sucrose. Similar to sugars, the cello-oligossacharides profile was influenced by the degree of pod ripeness and origin and most ripe samples presented mainly cellobiose, cellotriose and cellotetrose. In addition, the prebiotic potential of cocoa pulp was highlighted by cello-oligossacharides digestion assay which exhibited low rates of degradation. Varying enzymatic activity was observed amongst different pulp hybrids, with polyphenol oxidase showing a higher variation when compared to invertase and polygalacturonase ranging. This study shows that the pod hybrid, origin and ripening degree may change the cocoa pulp composition. Therefore, it is very important to understand and evaluate these variations, in order to obtain better results in pulp utilization either in cocoa fermentation or as a coproduct.
Keywords: Brazilian origin; Cocoa pulp; Enzymes; Hybrids; Oligosaccharides; Sugars.
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