Antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content and methylxantine ratio in four materials of Theobroma cacao L. from Tolima, Colombia

The International Cocoa Organization recognized Colombian cocoa as fine aroma, but in recent years, clone CCN 51 has grown in popularity, widely due to its high yield. The Tolima department is the fourth producer of cacao in Colombia, but there is a lack of knowledge of the chemical properties of regional cocoa genotypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological, antioxidant activity, total polyphenol content and the methylxanthines ratio of four regional genotypes (UTLP02, UTVE01, UTGC01 and UTLM02) of Theobroma cacao L. from Tolima, Colombia. The universal clone of CCN51 was used as control. The highest values for the qualitative descriptors were obtained by the variants UTVE01 and CCN51 with FRAP and TPC ranging from 44.51 +/- 0.90 to 106.77 +/- 5.21 mg GAE/g and 27.13 +/- 0.14 to 52.12 +/- 4.71 mmol TE/g respectively. The genotypes with the highest values for FRAP and TPC were UTGC01 and CCN51. According to the methylxanthine ratio, UTVE01 was classified as Criollo, while UTLM02, UTGC01 and UTLP02, CCN51 are Trinitario and Forastero, respectively. Although CCN51 is considered a remarkable material in terms of productivity, the genotypes evaluated present good yields and interesting values of TPC and antioxidant activity, making them promising trees in local breeding programs.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the morphological characteristics, antioxidant activity, and polyphenol content of four cocoa genotypes from Tolima, Colombia. Two genotypes showed the highest qualitative descriptors. Based on the methylxanthines ratio, the genotypes were classified into different cocoa types.