Chocolate – A Bittersweet Antioxidant

Abstract

We studied the positive health effect of different chocolates (antioxidative effects on stable free radicals, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and for prevention of lipid peroxidation). The results show that all chocolates successfully remove •OH radicals, but only chocolates with high cocoa content are also effective for of •O2 -. The capabilities for chocolate samples to reduce organic radicals are shown to be positive for hydrophobic DPPH which was not the case for hydrophilic Tempone. Only the chocolate samples with high cocoa content were shown to prevent lipid peroxidation induced by Fenton reaction. Obtained results showed that chocolates have diverse antioxidative effects which are not only dependant on the content of cocoa. The other chocolate constituents like: sugar, polyphenols, cocoa butter, emulsifier and other substances should also be considered for determining the positive health effect of chocolates.