Effect of cocoa husk Criollo tea on hypercholesterolemia in animal model

Organic waste is a problem the cocoa industry has to handle. The industry produces a lot of cocoa bean husk, also called criollo cocoa husk. Cocoa bean husk is an underutilized cocoa waste that contains bioactive components in the form of phenols and flavonoids. Processed cocoa bean husk can be brewed as a functional beverage. The research objective was to test cocoa husk tea for sensory properties, bioactive components, and impact on blood cholesterol. This study used a randomized experimental design with six repetitions. Sensory data were processed using the Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (α = 0.05) to determine the difference in sensory properties between each formulation of cocoa husk tea. The sensory evaluation involved 30 untrained panelists who gave the highest score to the formulation with 62.5% cocoa bean husk, 25% lemongrass, and 12.5% aromatic ginger, which could also reduce 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals (IC50 = 264.8675). The animal test showed that the cocoa husk formulation produced no significant difference (p > 0.05) in pre- and post-treatment, but was able to keep cholesterol within normal limits. Cocoa bean husk showed health benefits by its antioxidant properties and ability to control blood cholesterol.