Food Chemistry, Nutrition and Safety

Biography

Biography: Koh Wee Yin

Abstract

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a four-carbon non-protein amino acid that is regarded as a bioactive component and is well-known for its physiological activities as a diuretic, neurotransmitter, blood pressure regulator, and anti-stress agent. Its inclusion in snacks like chocolate may have positive health effects. GABA-enriched dark chocolates had been developed in this study by partially replacing sugar syrup with GABA pure powder at concentrations of 0.05% (F1), 0.10% (F2), and 0.15% (F3). The control formulation contained 45% (w/w) of syrup, 27.5% (w/w) of cocoa powder, 27% (w/w) of cocoa butter, and 0.5% (w/w) of lecithin. The effects of GABA enrichment on the quality of chocolate in terms of nutritional composition, textural, rheological, melting, shelf-life, and sensorial properties were then studied. The relative compositions of the control and GABA-enriched chocolates were almost same. Even while the GABA concentration of all the chocolates with GABA additions was higher than that of the control, only the F3 chocolate exhibited a significant increase (P<0.05) of GABA content after processing, with a total of 21.09 mg/100g GABA. The addition of GABA had remarkably increased the hardness of chocolate but did not affect the apparent viscosity and melting properties of chocolate. According to the accelerated shelf-life test results, all the chocolate samples were found to be microbiologically safe for consumption for at least 21 days of storage at both 20°C and 30°C. Among the GABA-enriched chocolates, the panelists preferred F2 with 0.10% GABA the most owing to its glossiness and sweetness. However, F3 chocolate had the highest in vitro inhibitory activity of the angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (79.54 1.53%). An efficient strategy to control hypertension is to block the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Therefore, F3 chocolate might be a potential functional food for regulating hypertension.