Biologically Active Peptides from Cocoa Bean (Theobroma cacao L.)

Recently, proteins and peptides have become important ingredients in functional foods due to the emergence of knowledge about their properties and biological activities. Many biologically active peptides (BAPs) have been studied from different animal and vegetal origins, principally legumes, such as soybeans and beans. BAPs have been shown to have anticancer, antitumoral, antioxidant and antimutagenic activities. Cacao, an ancient crop that originated in the Mesoamerican region, contains several bioactive compounds, e.g., polyphenols, alkaloids, flavanols, procyanidins and peptides. Cocoa beans contain 50% lipids and 14% protein, with albumins and globulins prevailing. The principal amino acids from cocoa protein are lysine, arginine, serine, proline, alanine, leucine, valine and methionine, and they allow the elucidation of the peptide’s bioactivity. Cocoa BAPs show antitumoral, antioxidant, antihypertensive and antidiabetic activities and obesity prevention. This work demonstrates the potential of all its BAPs.