2026-10-14T09:27:10Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34031536 2026-09-30T11:08:19Z category_4 category_146 category_21 category_272 category_873 category_39 category_45 category_734 category_62 category_106 category_133 portal_63 item_type_6 month_year_09_2026

Compositional and Metabolomic Characterization of Major On-Farm Side Streams and Derived Products of Industrial Fine-Flavor Cocoa Processing Daniela Burgos-Toro (25143343) Ana M. León-Inga (25143346) María J. Chica (25143349) José M. Guillamón (25143352) Mónica P. Cala (25143355) Miguel Fernández-Niño (25143358) Biochemistry Space Science Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Sociology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Marine Biology Science Policy Plant Biology subsequent targeted quantification including caffeic acid future valorization studies farm side streams composite samples prepared amino acid derivatives 000 tons annually flavor cocoa agro cocoa side streams cocoa pulp juice cocoa pod husk mineral composition showed flavor cocoa processing cocoa syrup reaching industrial chain generates n -( deoxyfructosyl first joint compositional ms analyses enabled cocoa syrup mineral analyses processing histories industrial conditions three batches thermally concentrated results provide resolved profiles rational prioritization production batches procyanidin b1 operating within metabolomic description metabolomic characterization luker 40 integrated compositional indole carboxaldehyde functional validation distinct origins derived products compositional baseline biological replicates 82 metabolites The fine-flavor cocoa agro-industrial chain generates on-farm side streams with distinct origins and processing histories, yet their compositional diversity remains insufficiently characterized under industrial conditions. Here, we performed an integrated compositional and metabolomic characterization of cocoa pod husk, cocoa pulp juice, and cocoa syrup generated within a large-scale monoclonal fermentation system (Luker 40; ∼500 kg per fermentation box) operating within an industrial fine-flavor cocoa production system exceeding 73,000 tons annually. Metabolomic characterization was performed using three independent industrial production batches as biological replicates (n = 3), whereas proximate and mineral analyses were performed on composite samples prepared from the three batches. Mineral composition showed the largest relative differences among matrices, with cocoa syrup reaching an ash content approximately 12 times that of cocoa pulp juice. Complementary LC-MS and GC-MS analyses enabled the annotation of 82 metabolites (46 by LC-MS and 36 by GC-MS), revealing distinct matrix-resolved profiles, including caffeic acid, epicatechin, and procyanidin B1 in cocoa pod husk; glutamine, glutathione, and indole carboxaldehyde in cocoa pulp juice; and N-(deoxyfructosyl) amino acid derivatives in cocoa syrup. To our knowledge, this is the first joint compositional and metabolomic description of a thermally concentrated, fermentation-derived cocoa syrup together with prefermentation cocoa pulp juice recovered from the same production batches. These results provide a compositional baseline for subsequent targeted quantification, extraction/recovery, and functional validation, supporting the rational prioritization of cocoa side streams and derived products for future valorization studies. 2026-09-30T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 10.1021/acsomega.6c06084.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Compositional_and_Metabolomic_Characterization_of_Major_On-Farm_Side_Streams_and_Derived_Products_of_Industrial_Fine-Flavor_Cocoa_Processing/34031536 CC BY-NC 4.0