Korean Journal of Agricultural Science ISSN:2466-2402(Print) 2466-2410(Online) 농업과학연구

Cacao is recognized not only as a raw material for making chocolate but also as an excellent functional food with a high antioxidant effect. The consumption of raw cacao and its processed form of cacao has a beneficial effect on health. The aim of this study was to reveal the possible biological functions of yoghurt that was prepared with added cacao nibs (Theobroma cacao L.). The 2,2-anziobis (3-ehtylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic aicd (ABTS) radical scavenging ability of yogurt containing Cacao nibs from 1 to 5% was higher than that of the control group, and the ABTS radical scavenging ability was similar in all the test groups after 12 hours of fermentation. The antibacterial activity of the control and yogurt with the cacao nibs was shown to be very strong against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus 1631, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella Typhimurium M-15 in fermented milk for 16, 24, and 48 hours, but the fermentation times at 0, 4, and 8 hours showed no activity. The Cacao nibs powder inhibited IκBα-phosphorylation in a concentration-dependent manner. The yogurt containing the cacao nibs significantly inhibited the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-6 in a concentration-dependent manner. Our development of yogurt that combines milk as a complete food and cacao nibs, which has several physiological functions, is expected to greatly contribute to research on new functional fermented milk.