If you’re hungry, grab a Snickers! If your sweet tooth is calling, grab a jar of chocolate honey!
Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo, Brazil, have made a product that blends native bee honey with cocoa bean shells, considered a waste product in the chocolate-making industry. The chocolate-infused honey is filled with antioxidants and natural stimulants. Compounds that support heart health, such as theobromine and caffeine, dissolve in honey, bringing the best of both honey and chocolate to the party.
The honey acts as an edible, natural solvent that, when enhanced with ultrasound waves, extracts beneficial compounds from cocoa shells. Using a probe that resembles a metal pen, sound waves are generated into a mixture of honey and cocoa shells. The sound waves form microscopic bubbles that collapse and raise the temperature, breaking down the shells and releasing compounds that infuse with the honey. The ultrasound-assisted process also spikes the amount of phenolic compounds in honey, known for their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Researchers who sampled the concoction report a pronounced chocolate flavor that varies depending on the ratio of honey to cocoa shells. Additional testing is planned to understand the taste and other sensory properties further. “Of course, the biggest appeal to the public is the flavor, but our analyses have shown that it has several bioactive compounds that make it quite interesting from a nutritional and cosmetic point of view,” says Felipe Sanchez Bragagnolo, the study’s first author, who also carried out the research during his postdoctoral work at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA) at UNICAMP in Limeira.
Apart from reducing food waste, the project emphasizes the sustainable use of local biodiversity. Honey from native Brazilian bees contains more water and is less viscous than European bees’, making it more effective at extracting beneficial compounds. The researchers tested honey from five Brazilian species: borá (Tetragona clavipes), jataí (Tetragonisca angustula), mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata), mandaguari (Scaptotrigona postica), and moça-branca (Frieseomelitta varia). Initially, Mandaguari honey was chosen to refine the extraction process because of its moderate water content and viscosity compared to the rest. Once optimized, the same methods were applied to the remaining varieties. Since honey is sensitive to environmental factors such as climate, the process can be adapted to locally available honey.
The sustainability of the entire production greatly benefited from the use of locally sourced honey, an edible, ready-to-use solvent. The process aligned with the 12 principles of green chemistry, including transportation, post-treatment, purification, and application. Working with the university’s innovation agency, Bragagnolo plans to seek a commercial partner to license the patented procedure and introduce the product to the market.
Treatment with ultrasound in honey microbiology can disrupt bacterial cell walls, potentially spoiling the product. Honey is already known for its antimicrobial properties, and is a ‘forever food’ that rarely spoils. In fact, perfectly preserved, and in some reports, still edible honey has been discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Dating technology suggests that this honey has been around for at least 3,000 years. Simply exposing honey to ultrasound can increase its shelf life and stability by eliminating microbes. Scientists look forward to exploring other uses for native bee honey and extracting additional plant residues using this tech.