Glycemic index determination of Cacao fruit pulp – an edible by-product in cocoa bean production

Abstract

Background

Cacao fruit pulp is a sweet and fruity carbohydrate-rich edible mucilage from the cacao fruit that is often discarded during cocoa bean production. While there is interest in re-purposing the pulp for human consumption, no study to date has assessed the glycemic response.

Aim: to determine the glycemic index (GI) of cocoa pulp using the ISO method.

Methods

In an acute, open-labelled, randomized design, 10 individuals without diabetes (age: 42.0 ± 17.0 years, BMI: 28.0 ± 4.3 kg/m²) were studied over 120 min after consuming 25 g available carbohydrate portions of cacao pulp or dextrose on separate occasions.

Summary

The GI of cacao pulp was 51 ± 4 and incremental area under the curve for cacao pulp was 50% lower than dextrose (83.5 ± 14.3 vs. 166.1 ± 30.6 mmol × min/L, p = 0.001). Postprandial glucose levels were also significantly lower for cacao pulp at 15, 30 and 45 min (p < 0.02). This study demonstrated that cacao pulp is a low GI food and may have uses in attenuating postprandial glucose.