Determination of oligomeric proanthocyanidins and their antioxidant capacity from different chocolate manufacturing stages using the NP-HPLC-online-DPPH methodology

The present study describes the influence of the different stages of a lab-scale chocolate manufacturing process on the content of oligomeric proanthocyanidins and their antioxidant capacity. The sum of the total proanthocyanidin content (∑ DP1-DP13) decreased from 30 mg epicatechin equivalents per gram non-fat dry matter in raw fresh cocoa beans to 6 mg epicatechin equivalents per gram in the final chocolate. The antioxidant capacity decreased accordingly from 25 mg epicatechin equivalents per gram non-fat dry matter in raw fresh cocoa beans to 4 mg/g in the final chocolate product.