B. Chemical Constitution of the Bean.
a) The Cacao Bean Proper.
Just as the beans of the cacao fruit are included under the botanical concept “Seed”, so also their chemical constituents closely resemble those common to every other seed. There are the usual reserve stuffs inherited from the mother plant, which serve as sustenance for the yet undeveloped organs, and compare with albumen in the feathered world. Apart from the constituents incidental to all plant life at this stage, such as albumin, starch, water, fat, sugar, cellulose and mineral stuffs such as ash, the cacao seed has two other components peculiar to itself; Theobromine and Cacao-red. We adjoin a succession of chemical determinations respecting the quantitative proportions of these substances in the seed, and think further that we may be allowed to cite the results of fore-time investigators in this sphere, especially as their work has formed the basis for all future operations, and again, in view of the doubt which still prevails in scientific circles as to the “Normal” composition of the cacao bean.
Table 4.
Percentage Composition of the Hulled Bean.
| Analyst | Payen[20] | Lampadius[20] | Mitscherlich[20] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituents percent | Undescribed | West Indies | Guayaquil | Caracas |
| 1. Water | 10·0 | 3·40 | 5·60 | — |
| 2. Nitrogenous matter | 20·0 | 16·70 | 14·39 | — |
| 3. Theobromine | 2·2 | — | 1·20 | — |
| 4. Fat | 52·0 | 53·10 | 45-49 | 46-49 |
| 5. Cacao-red | — | 2·07 | 3·50 | — |
| 6. Sugar | — | — | 0·60 | — |
| 7. Gum and Starch | 10·0 | 7·75 | 14·30 | 13·5 |
| 8. Woody fibre | 2·0 | 0·90 | 5·80 | — |
| 9. Ash | 4·0 | 3·43 | 3·50 | — |
Table 5.
| Laube | Aldendorff | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituents percent | Caracas | Guayaquil | Trinidad | Puerto Cabello | Surinam |
| 1. Water | 4·04 | 3·63 | 2·81 | 2·96 | 3·76 |
| 2. Nitrogenous matter | 14·68 | 14·68 | 15·06 | 15·03 | 11·00 |
| 3. Fat | 46·18 | 49·04 | 48·32 | 50·57 | 54·40 |
| 4. Starch | 12·74 | 11·56 | 14·91 | 12·94 | — |
| 5. Other non-nitrogenous matter | 18·50 | 12·64 | 12·06 | 11·49 | 28·32 |
| 6. Woody fibre | 4·20 | 4·13 | 3·62 | 3·07 | — |
| 7. Ash | 3·86 | 3·72 | 3·22 | 3·94 | 2·35 |
| C. Heisch | |||||
| Constituents percent | Granada | Bahia | Cuba | Para | |
| 1. Water | 3·90 | 4·40 | 3·72 | 3·96 | |
| 2. Nitrogenous matter | 12·45 | 7·31 | 8·56 | 12·50 | |
| 3. Fat | 45·60 | 50·30 | 45·30 | 54·30 | |
| 4. Starch | — | — | — | — | |
| 5. Other non-nitrogenous matter | 35·70 | 35·30 | 39·41 | 26·33 | |
| 6. Woody fibre | — | — | — | — | |
| 7. Ash | 2·40 | 2·60 | 5·90 | 3·06 | |
The analyses carried out by Zipperer in the year 1886 yielded the following results[21]:
Table 6.
A) Analysis of the Raw Shelled Bean (Kernel).