Digestibility of cocoa butter from chocolate in humans: a comparison with corn-oil

Objective: To compare, in humans, the digestibility of moderate amounts of cocoa. butter (30.7g/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. There healthy men were selected from volunteers at the Nestle Research Center and all subjects completed 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 our 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 thc 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.