Assessment of the effectiveness of pectinase treatment on cocoa mesocarp (Theobroma cacao L.)

This study was conducted to evaluate the use of pectinase to degrade pectin in cocoa mesocarp. A completely randomized design with two factors was used: enzyme concentration (0.5, 1, & 3%) and treatment time (30, 60, 90, and 120 min). The results showed that increasing both enzyme concentration and treatment time significantly decreased the pectin content in cocoa mesocarp, from 4.86 to 0.08%. Similarly, viscosity decreased with increasing enzyme concentration and treatment time. Pectin was greatly degraded when treated with a 3% enzyme concentration for 120 min. These findings underscore the potential of pectinase to modify the properties of cocoa pod husk, which can be used to develop high-value products, contributing to maximize the utilization of this agricultural by-product.