Cocoa By-Products: Characterization of Bioactive Compounds and Beneficial Health Effects

The annual production of cocoa is approximately 4.7 million tons of cocoa beans, of which only 10% corresponds to the cocoa bean and the remaining value corresponds to a high number of residues, cocoa bean shell, pulp and husk. These by-products are a source of nutrients and compounds of notable interest in the food industry as possible ingredients, or even additives. The assessment of such by-products is relevant to the circular economy at both environmental and economic levels. Investigations carried out with these by-products have shown that cocoa husk can be used for the production of useful chemicals such as ketones, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, furans, heterocyclic aromatics, alkylbenzenes, phenols and benzenediols, as well as being efficient for the removal of lead from acidic solutions, without decay in the process due to the other metals in this matrix. The fibre present in the cocoa bean shell has a considerable capacity to adsorb a large amount of oil and cholesterol, thus reducing its bioavailability during the digestion process, as well as preventing lipid oxidation in meats, with better results compared to synthetic antioxidants (butylated hydroxytoluene and β-tocopherol). Finally, cocoa pulp can be used to generate a sweet and sour juice with a natural flavour. Thus, this review aimed to compile information on these by-products, focusing mainly on their chemical and nutritional composition, simultaneously, the various uses proposed in the literature based on a bibliographic review of articles, books and theses published between 2000 and 2021, using databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, ScieLO, PubMed and ResearchGate.