Evaluation of the essential oils and teas produced from the Bahia and Pará cocoa almond husks

Brazil is one of the largest producers of cocoa in the world and, consequently, of the husks of cocoa almonds. This material is an industrial food waste from which it is possible to produce an aromatic tea. The aim of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition of the essential oils of the husks of cocoa almond samples from Bahia and Pará states. Total phenolic (Folin-Ciocalteu) and flavonoid (AlCl3) contents, antioxidant capacity (DPPH assay) and toxicity (Artemia salina bioassay) of its infusions were also evaluated. Essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC techniques. Only tetradecanoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, ethyl tetradecanoate and methyl oleate were detected in all samples. Pyrazines are probably produced during the roasting of the seeds. The infusions presented moderate antioxidant potentials that were highly correlated with their total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and were classified as non-toxic.