Diversification of Cocoa Drinks with Chlorella vulgaris Hydrolysate as a Functional Innovation for Health Benefits

Background: Cocoa has long been known as the main ingredient in making chocolate, which is applied in food such as very popular chocolate drinks. Thus, cocoa is believed to have a promising approach in terms of diversification and innovation of health products. One of them is the fortification of Chlorella protein hydrolysate which is considered a sustainable protein source for the future in increasing the protein value of health drinks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensory and physicochemical properties of cocoa drinks fortified with Chlorella hydrolysate. Methods: The experimental design used was a non-factorial completely randomized design (CRD) with 4 treatment levels, in the fortification of Chlorella protein hydrolysate into cocoa drinks 0% (HPC0), 10% (HPC1), 15% (HPC2), 20% (HPC3). Result: Chlorella protein hydrolysate had a protein content of 90.47%. Overall, the sensory value of cocoa drink was highly favored by panelists (p less than 0.001) and the addition 20% of Chlorella hydrolysate (HPC3) obtained the highest taste value. Moreover, the chemical composition for all treatments increased and HPC3 had the highest protein (11.15%) with 72.97% of solubility and 2.27 ppm of phenol (p less than 0.001). Cocoa drinks can be widely applied worldwide for diversification and innovation of valuable products.