Phenolic compounds, methylxanthines and antioxidant activity in cocoa mass and chocolates produced from "witch broom disease" resistant and non resistant cocoa cultivars Compostos fenólicos, metilxantinas e atividade antioxidante em massa de cacau e chocolates produzidos a partir de cultivares resistentes e n o resistentes a "vassoura de bruxa"

The "witch broom disease" caused by the fungus called Moniliophthora perniciosa is one of the most important cocoa diseases in Latin America, causing around 70% production reduction in the southern Bahia. In attempt to solve the problem, many cultivars resistant to the disease have been recommended to farmers. On the other hand, the chocolate flavour is composed by many compounds whose formation depends on the genetic background, environment where cocoa is grown and processing operations. Therefore, this work aimed at determining the monomeric phenolic compounds, methylxanthines and antioxidant activity of cocoa mass and dark chocolate from cocoa cultivars resistant to "witch broom disease" and non resistant to the disease. The total phenolic compounds in cocoa mass did not vary among cultivars with values ranging from 23.95mg g-1 to 25.03mg g-1. Chocolates made from non resistant cultivars showed higher total phenolic compounds (19.11mg g-1) than SR162 and PH16 with 16.08mg g-1 and 15.46mg g-1, respectively. Epicatechin had higher content than catechin and the levels of these two compounds were higher in SR162. There were significant differences among samples of cocoa mass analyzed for caffeine. Chocolate made from SR162 had the highest amount of monomeric compounds due to its high concentration of catechin and epicatechin. The chocolate sample with the highest antioxidant activity was the SR162, followed by non resistant blend and PH16, showing relationship between the antioxidant activity and monomeric phenolics content. A "vassoura bruxa" causada pelo fungo Moniliophthora perniciosa, é uma das doen as mais importantes do cacau na América Latina, provocando uma redu o de cerca de 70% na produ o das amêndoas na Bahia. Para tentar resolver o problema, muitos cultivares resistentes à enfermidade têm sido recomendados para os agricultores. Por outro lado, as características do chocolate s o oriundas de várias substancias, cuja forma o depende da origem genética do fruto, do meio ambiente onde o cacau é cultivado e das opera es de processamento. Assim, neste trabalho, objetivou-se determinar os compostos fenólicos monoméricos, metilxantinas e a atividade antioxidante em massa de cacau e chocolates provenientes de cultivares resistentes à "vassoura de bruxa" e n o resistentes à doen a. Os compostos fenólicos totais na massa de cacau n o variou entre os cultivares com valores que variam entre 25,03mg g-1 a 23,95mg g-1. Chocolates feitos a partir de cultivares n o resistentes à doen a apresentaram maior teor de fenólicos totais (19,11mg g-1) que os culti