Antioxidative Polyphenols Isolated from Theobroma cacao

The antioxidant components of cacao liquor, which is a major ingredient of chocolate, were isolated with column chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. Quercetin and its glucoside were identified by spectrometric methods. Clovamide and deoxyclovamide were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR and MS spectrometry. Their antioxidative activity was measured by peroxide value of linoleic acid and thiobarbituric acid reactive-substance value of erythrocyte ghost membranes and microsomes. In the bulk oil system, clovamide had the strongest antioxidative activity but was less active in the other experiments. In the case of the two hydrophilic systems, flavans such as quercetin and epicatechin were more potently effective than the glucosides. It is considered that chocolate is stable against oxidative deterioration due to the presence of these polyphenolic compounds.