HERSHEY, Pa.—The more non-fat cocoa-derived ingredients in chocolate, the more flavanol compounds, reports a new study conducted by The Hershey Company, Brunswick Laboratories and Cornell University (J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Oct 14;57(19):9169-80). The researchers found flavanol compounds, with the exception of catechin, correlated very well with total polyphenols, non-fat cocoa solids and, to a slightly lesser degree, cocoa content in a broad range of chocolate- and cocoa-containing products marketed in the United States.
Results showed a strong correlation (R2 = 0.834) of epicatechin and N = 2−5 oligomers to the percent of nonfat cocoa solids in the products. A weaker correlation was observed for catechin percent of nonfat cocoa solids (R2 = 0.680). Other analyses showed a similar high degree of correlation with epicatechin and N = 2−5 oligomers to total polyphenols, with catechin being less well correlated to total polyphenols. A lesser, but still good correlation existed between the calculated percent cacao content and these same flavanol measures, with catechin again showing a lesser degree of correlation.
In the study, researchers analyzed samples of the three or four top-selling products within the following six categories: natural cocoa powder, unsweetened baking chocolate, dark chocolate, semisweet baking chips, milk chocolate.