Chemical and Skincare Property Characterization of the Main Cocoa Byproducts: Extraction Optimization by RSM Approach for Development of Sustainable Ingredients

Methylxanthines and polyphenols from cocoa byproducts should be considered for their application in the development of functional ingredients for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. Different cocoa byproducts were analyzed for their chemical contents, and skincare properties were measured by antioxidant assays and anti-skin aging activity. Musty cocoa beans (MC) and second-quality cocoa beans (SQ) extracts showed the highest polyphenol contents and antioxidant capacities. In the collagenase and elastase inhibition study, the highest effect was observed for the SQ extract with 86 inhibition and 36% inhibition, respectively. Among cocoa byproducts, the contents of catechin and epicatechin were higher in the SQ extract, with 18.15 mg/100 g of sample and 229.8 mg/100 g of sample, respectively. Cocoa bean shells (BS) constitute the main byproduct due to their methylxanthine content (1085 mg of theobromine and 267 mg of caffeine/100 g of sample). Using BS, various influencing factors in the extraction process were investigated by response surface methodology (RSM), before scaling up separations. The extraction process developed under optimized conditions allows us to obtain almost 2 g/min and 0.2 g/min of total methylxanthines and epicatechin, respectively. In this way, this work contributes to the sustainability and valorization of the cocoa production chain.

Synthesis and Property Characterization of Ternary Laminar Zr2SB Ceramic

In this paper, Zr2SB ceramics with high relative density (99.03%) and high purity of 82.95 wt% (containing 8.96 wt% ZrB2 and 8.09 wt% zirconium) were successfully synthesized from ZrH2, sublimated sulfur and boron powder by spark plasma sintering at 1300 ℃. The reaction mechanism, microstructures, physical properties and mechanical properties of Zr2SB ceramic were systematically studied. The results show that Zr2SB was obtained by the reaction of zirconium sulfide, zirconium and boron, and ZrB2 coexisted in the sample as a symbiotic impurity phase. The average grain size of Zr2SB was 12.46 μm in length and 5.12 μm in width, and the mean grain sizes of ZrB2 and zirconium impurities were about 300 nm. In terms of physical properties, the measured thermal expansion coefficient was 7.64 × 10-6 K-1 from room temperature to 1200 ℃, and the thermal capacity and thermal conductivity at room temperature were 0.39 J·g−1·K−1 and 12.01 W∙m−1∙K−1, respectively. The room temperature electrical conductivity of Zr2SB ceramic was measured to be 1.74 × 106 Ω−1∙m−1. In terms of mechanical properties, Vickers hardness was 9.86 ± 0.63 GPa under 200 N load, and the measured flexural strength, fracture toughness and compressive strength were 269 ± 12.7 MPa, 3.94 ± 0.63 MPa·m1/2, and 2166.74 ± 291.34 MPa, respectively.