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European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 120125
2000 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved 09543007/00 $15.00www.nature.com/ejcnDigestibility of cocoa butter from chocolate in humans: acomparison with corn-oilY Shahkhalili1*, E Duruz1 and K Acheson11Nestle Research Center Lausanne, Nestec Ltd, Lausanne, SwitzerlandObjective: To compare, in humans, the digestibility of moderate amounts of cocoa butter (30.7 g=d) consumed
in the form of chocolate as part of a normal western diet with that of a well-absorbed fat (corn oil); and
hence determine whether, by virtue of its apparent low absorption, cocoa butter can be considered to be
a low calorie fat.Design: Randomised, two-period crossover metabolic study, conducted under free-living conditions, but with
strict control over food intake.Setting: Metabolic Unit, Nestle Research Center Lausanne.Subjects: Twelve healthy men were selected from volunteers at the Nestle
Research Center and all subjectscompleted the study.Intervention: Two treatment periods of two weeks each: cocoa butter and control periods, with strict dietary
control separated by a two week wash out period.Results: No differences (P > 0.05) were observed in faecal weight (wet or dry), faecal fat nor in defecation
frequency between treatments (cocoa butter and corn oil). Cocoa butter at a dose of 30.7 g=d in the form of black
chocolate, consumed between two meals, was found to have a similar digestibility to that of corn oil (99 % of
corn oil digestibility).Conclusion: Cocoa butter, consumed as black chocolate within a normal mixed diet, has a high digestibility,
similar to that of corn oil, and a digestible energy value of 37 kJ=g in man. Thus, cocoa butter cannot be
considered to be a low-calorie fat.Sponsorship: Nestec Ltd, Switzerland.Descriptors: cocoa butter digestibility; faecal fat; defecation frequency; chocolate; corn oil; human study
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 120125IntroductionCocoa butter is primarily consumed in cocoa-containing
products such as chocolate, confectionery products and
certain beverages (for example hot chocolate). Although
of vegetable origin, it is rich in saturated fatty acids,
namely palmitic acid (24 27 % by wt) and stearic acid
(32 36 % by wt) which are primarily in the terminal
positions of triacylglycerols (sn-1 and sn-3), as well as
oleic acid (33 37 % by wt) which is mainly in the middle
position (sn-2) of triacylglycerols (Bracco, 1994) . Despite
the high degree of saturation, cocoa...