THE ENZYMES OF CACAO ' 



By Harvey C. Brill 

 (From the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Bureau of Science, 



lUaniia, F. I.) 



The necessity for fermenting or sweating cacao is now gen- 

 erally acknowledged. The principal changes brought about by 

 this process are : ( 1 ) The removal of the greater portion of the 

 sugary pulp or parenchymatous tissue surrounding the beans, 

 (2) the dissociation of the bean from its testa or seed coat, (3) 

 the promotion of chemical changes within the seeds, (4) the 

 conversion of the bitter astringent taste into a palatable sweet 

 one, and (5) an improvement in color, break, and flavor. 



Investigators are not agreed as to the cause of these changes 

 and attribute them to the action of various agencies. Hart " 

 contends that the process of — 



fermentation or sweating in cacao consists in an alcoholic fermentation 

 of the sugars in the pulp of the fruit accompanied by a loss of some of 

 the albuminoid and indeterminate nitrogenous constituents of the beans. 

 * * * Some parts of the carbohydrates other than sugars undergo 

 hydi'olysis and either escape in the runnings from the boxes in the form 

 of glucose, or undergo in turn the alcoholic and acetic fermentations. 

 During this change some of the astringent matters to which the somewhat 

 acrid taste of the raw beans is due ai"e also hydrolised, and thus a marked 

 improvement in flavour is gained. 



Harrison ■' holds the same view. 



A. Schulte im Hofe,^ in an investigation carried out at Vic- 

 toria in Cameroon, came to the conclusion that the changes 

 brought about in the cacao bean during fermentation were the 

 result of an oxidation process and were precisely similar to 

 those taking place during the conversion of green tea into black 

 tea. He made no attempt to determine if the oxidation was due 

 to the action of enzymes or arose from other causes. 



' Received for publication February 26, 1915. 



-Cacao. Trinidad, 2d ed. (1900), 106-107. 



' Proc. Agr. Soc. Trinidad (1896-97), 2, 250. 



* Die Kultur und Fabrication von Tee in Britisch Indien und Ceylon mit 

 Riicksicht auf den wirtschaftlichen Wert der Teekultur fiir die deutschen 

 Kolonien. Tropenpflanzer (1901), 5 (2), 37. 



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