Cocoa and chocolate are sources of vitamin D2. 2018

Julia Kühn, and Annett Schröter, and Bernd M Hartmann, and Gabriele I Stangl
Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany; Competence Cluster of Cardiovascular Health and Nutrition (nutriCARD), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: julia.kuehn@landw.uni-halle.de.

Cocoa beans are susceptible to fungal contamination and often contain substantial amounts of ergosterol, the precursor to vitamin D2. We hypothesized that sun-drying the fermented cocoa beans might lead to the conversion of ergosterol to vitamin D2. We quantified vitamin D in cocoa and cocoa-based foods by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Here, we show that cocoa beans from different growing regions contain vitamin D2. Particularly high vitamin D2 content was found in cocoa powder and butter. Among the chocolates, dark chocolate had the highest vitamin D2 content (ranging from 1.90 to 5.48 µg/100 g), white chocolate had the lowest vitamin D2 content (ranging from 0.19 to 1.91 µg/100 g), and chocolate nut spreads had a comparatively low vitamin D2 content, with an average of 0.15 µg/100 g. Thus, cocoa and chocolate are clearly a dietary source of vitamin D, therefore, it is necessary to update food composition databases.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D002079 Butter The fatty portion of milk, separated as a soft yellowish solid when milk or cream is churned. It is processed for cooking and table use. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed) Butters
D002099 Cacao A tree of the family MALVACEAE, order MALVALES, whose seeds are processed to yield cocoa and CHOCOLATE. Cocoa Plant,Theobroma,Theobroma cacao,Plant, Cocoa
D004032 Diet Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal. Diets
D004872 Ergocalciferols Derivatives of ERGOSTEROL formed by ULTRAVIOLET RAYS breaking of the C9-C10 bond. They differ from CHOLECALCIFEROL in having a double bond between C22 and C23 and a methyl group at C24. Calciferols,Vitamin D 2,Ergocalciferol,Vitamin D2,D2, Vitamin
D000069956 Chocolate Food product prepared from fermenting, roasting, and grinding seeds of the COCOA plant. Cocoa Powder,Chocolates,Cocoa Powders,Powder, Cocoa,Powders, Cocoa

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