Influência do fungo cladosporium cladosporioides no índice de qualidade e perfil aromático de sementes de cacau (Theobroma cacao L.) fermentadas

Abstract

Cocoa is a fruit that has great scientific and economic importance. However, the existing microbial diversity between lots and locations, results in different products, in relation to physical, chemical and sensory attributes. Thus, Araujo et al. (2014) proposed variables that can be used in order to standardize the quality indices of this raw material, in addition to what is already governed by legislation. In addition, there are several studies that use starter cultures of bacteria and yeasts in the fermentation of cocoa seeds, in order to obtain beans with superior quality and desirable aromas, in addition to resulting in a more homogeneous fermented raw material between different batches and locations. However, there are still no reports of the use of filamentous fungi as a starter culture, despite having biotechnological potential, mainly due to the excretion of several enzymes. A species that has already been reported in the fermentation of cocoa seeds is Cladosporium cladosporioides, which produces antifungal metabolites aimed at plant pathogens, in addition to having pectinase, laccase, glucanase, amylase, cellulase and xylanase enzymatic activity, important for the improvement of the cocoa bean fermentation process. The objective of this study is, therefore, to evaluate the influence of this filamentous fungus during the fermentation process, in an unprecedented way, through physicochemical and microbiological analyses. For this, two fermentation experiments were carried out: without inoculum (control) and with starter culture. The use of filamentous fungus did not significantly impact the formation of aromatic compounds in the almonds, compared to the control experiment. However, the presence of C. cladosporioides had a significant influence on the percentage of well-fermented almonds (p ≤ 0.05), through the cutting test, as a probable consequence of the lower content of total phenolic compounds, and of catechin and epicatechin. In addition, there was a lower concentration of acetic acid and a higher content of bioactive amines (p ≤ 0.05), when compared to the control experiment. These observed aspects were confirmed through multivariate analysis. Based on these results, it can be said that the use of C. cladosporioides proved to be promising and could provide improvements in fermented and dried cocoa beans.