World Cocoa Foundation Research Update: November 2007
Robert D. Lumsden, Plant Pathologist and WCF Scientific Advisor
World Cocoa Foundation: Dr. Chris Okafor of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture/Sustainable Tree Crops Program, Nigeria was presented the 2007 Cocoa Sustainability Award by WCF Executive Committee Member Dr. Clive Barnes, Nestlé at the October, 2007 WCF Partnership Meeting. Dr. Okafor was recognized for his work as the Sustainable Tree Crops Program's country manager for Nigeria. In this role, Dr. Okafor has worked closely with the National Cocoa Development Committee as the Committee decided to adopt the Farmer Field School approach as the official extension delivery mechanism. This decision is a significant step towards the long term sustainability of the farmer training component of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program. Congratulations to Dr. Okafor and the Sustainable Tree Crops Program Nigeria.
RESEARCH GROUPS: From: George Sodre [mailto:sodre@cepec.gov.br], CEPLAC/Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau Cepec, C.P. 07-45600-000 Itabuna, Bahia, Brasil, who recently completed the following thesis: “Substrates and cuttings in the production of cocoa tree saplings.” The following is an English summary of George’s thesis, which is in Portuguese and is available as a PDF in the original form and in a published version, both listed below in the Recent Cacao Publications section, also available on the WCF web site. SUMMARY - The objective of this work was to prepare substrates with an organic base formed from composted cacao hulls and sawdust mixed with sand and to use these in the production of cacao saplings from mini-cuttings. Five experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, water retention curves were determined for the substrates using two methods, tension funnels and centrifugation by moisture equivalent method. It was found that centrifugation exhibits retention water values close to or equal to those determined by the funnel method. The following experiment on the chemical properties of substrates verified that sawdust could be used without pre-washing whereas CTAC required rinsing. The comparison of the growth of mini-cuttings of 4 and 8 cm lengths rooted in a sandy medium and transplanted into polyethylene bags of 3.4 dm3 showed no significant differences between the two lengths tested. Another experiment whose aim was to verify the influence of substrates on the rooting of clones CCN-51, CEPEC 2006, TSA 792 and TSH 1188, concluded that sawdust for clone TSA 792, and a mixture of sawdust and CTAC for clone CEPEC 2006, performed better than TSH 1188 in terms of aboveground dry biomass production. The last work on the physical characterization and the evaluation of the effect of substrates and containers on the growth of the cuttings showed that transplanting into bags of 840 cm3 enabled greater growth compared to small tubes of 288 cm3. Furthermore, the sawdust derived from the Una-BA district mixed in pure sand at a ratio 4:1 and 2:1 (v:v) could be recommended for the production of cuttings of the clone TSH 1188.
CFC/ICCO/BIOVERSITY RESEARCH PROJECT: From Bertus Eskes b.eskes@cgiar.org, Coordinator of the CFC/ICCO/Bioversity Project. “It is with pleasure that I forward herewith the Year 3 General Progress Report (June 2006 - May 2007) of the CFC/ICCO/Bioversity project on "Cocoa Productivity and Quality Improvement, a Participatory Approach". The report was elaborated by Bioversity based on the reports received from all project partners, including reports received from co-financiong institutions. The report summarizes main progress, constraints, resource utilisation and conclusions. The impact of project supported activities for the choice of varieties to be distributed to farmers is beginning to appear (e.g. in Nigeria, Ghana and PNG).” Read the project report.
RESEARCH RESULTS FROM THE INTERNET: From The New York Times. Love of Chocolate May Have Begun With Cacao Beer, November 13, 2007. By Henry Fountain. Published: November 13, 2007 The ancient peoples of Mexico and Central America loved to drink chocolate. But their beverage was nothing like the modern one — it was a frothy, bitter brew of fermented, roasted and ground cacao seeds, often spiced with chile peppers, more like mole poblano than Swiss Miss. New archaeological findings by John S. Henderson of Cornell and Rosemary A. Joyce of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues push the date of the first use of cacao back to about 1100 B.C., 500 years earlier than previously known. What’s more, the researchers suggest that this early beverage was something different again — a fermented beer made from cacao pulp, not seeds. John S. Henderson of Cornell and Rosemary A. Joyce of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues push the date of the first use of cacao back to about 1100 B.C., 500 years earlier than previously known. What’s more, the researchers suggest that this early beverage was something different again — a fermented beer made from cacao pulp, not seeds. Dr. Henderson and Dr. Joyce have been digging for years at Puerto Escondido, a village in the Ulúa Valley in what is now Honduras. They have found elegant pots, cups and other pieces of pottery and have developed a theory that the pottery was probably used on ceremonial occasions to serve cacao beverages. “Cacao was the social grease of Mesoamerica,” Dr. Henderson said. Full article.
From FoodNavigator.com. Barry Callebaut deconstructs cocoa to discover healthy elements. By Jess Halliday. 02/11/2007- Barry Callebaut is forging ahead with research that could establish the humble cocoa bean as one of the most potent healthy foods available to man, according to the chocolate giant's chief innovation officer The company recently announced the launch of a new probiotic chocolate developed in collaboration with Lal'Foods. Hans Vriens, chief innovation officer, told FoodNavigator.com at FIE this week that the fat matrix and cocoa solids in certain forms of chocolate allows for four times as many healthy bacteria to survive through digestive system to the gut, where their benefit is realised. He said that some 750 different components within chocolate have been identified and listed by the company, of which 230 can contribute to better human health - be it antioxidant capacity, brain health, relaxation or any number of other benefits. Full article.
From NutraIngredients.com. Cocoa husks offer green pectin source. By Stephen Daniells. 10/26/2007- Cocoa husks, a by-product of cocoa processing, may offer an alternative, environmentally friendly, and cost-efficient source of pectin for food, suggests a new study. If research can build on the results of this preliminary study, published in the journal Food Chemistry, the cocoa waste-product could offer an alternative to sourcing the ingredient from citrus peel and apple pomace. Researchers from the Institute of Material Science and Chemical Engineering at Torino Polytechnic report that mincing the husks for one hour and then extraction under acidic condition (pH 2.5) produced the best yields of about eight per cent. Source: Food Chemistry (Elsevier). Published on-line ahead of print, doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.09.006. "Extraction and characterization of pectins from cocoa husks: A preliminary study". By, C. Mollea, F. Chiampo;R. Conti. Full article.
From NutraIngredients: Chocolate study signals way to personalised health diets. By Jess Halliday. 0/15/2007- A study has shed new light on people's food preferences and a specific chemical signature that can be programmed into the metabolic system, leading the way to healthy diets that cater to an individual's needs. Proteome research is a relatively new area which involves characterising the structure of all the proteins produced by our genes, so as to understand the metabolic changes that take place when we digest food. The scientists, from the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, say their findings from laboratory work on chocolate-eaters break new ground and could eventually help with the classification of individuals by metabolic type. This, in turn, could be used to design healthier diets that are in tune to an individual's needs, they say. Chocolate makers, including Barry Callebaut and Mars, as well as Nestle, have been keenly researching the potential benefits of chocolate for human health, with a slate of promising results communicated in the last couple of years. In addition to the light the new results shed on metabolic types, the researchers say it could also lead to the discovery of additional biomarkers that can identify new health benefits linked to chocolate and other foods. Source: Journal of Proteome Research, Title: Human Metabolic Phenotypes Link Directly to Specific Dietary Preferences in Healthy Individuals. Authors: S. Rezzi, Z. Ramadan, F.-P. Martin, L. Fay, P. van Bladeren, J. Lindon, J. Nicholson, and S. Kochhar. Full article.
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