[Content of fat, fatty acids and sugar of chocolates and its products in Anhui Province].

Objective: Analyze the levels of fat, fatty acids and sugar in 30 commercially available chocolates and their products.

Methods: The contents of fat, fatty acids, and sugar in 30 chocolate products were tested. Principal component analysis was conducted on the fatty acid composition, and the proportions of different functional fatty acids were compared. The polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio, atherogenic index(IA) and thrombogenic index(IT) of various chocolate products were calculated, and a health evaluation was carried out.

Results: The fat content in chocolates and their products average ranged from 2.90 to 36.5 g/100 g, total fatty acids average ranged from 2.18 to 30.4 g/100 g, dark chocolate contains the highest fatty and total fatty acid content among them. Stearic acid and palmitic acid were the two main saturated fatty acids(SFA) in chocolate sample, and the average saturated fatty acid content ranging from 1.29 to 19.4 g/100 g, representing the highest proportion(59.2% to 75.3%). The samples contained abundant monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA). The total content of monounsaturated fatty acids averaged 0.743 to 9.76 g/100 g, second only to saturated fatty acids, accounting for 21.4% to 34.2% of the total, mainly oleic acid, which ranged from 0.727 to 9.63 g/100 g. Polyunsaturated fatty acid(PUFA) average ranged from 0.130 to 1.48 g/100 g, accounting for 3.0% to 6.0% of the total. Linoleic acid was the main polyunsaturated fatty acids in the samples, which ranged from 0.122 to 1.12 g/100 g. The average n-6PUFA/n-3PUFA ratio in the samples was 10. The average IA of the samples was 0.4, and IT was 3.2. No glucose or fructose was detected in the sample. The main sugar compounds were sucrose, with a content of 30.0 to 48.0 g/100 g, followed by lactose and maltose.

Conclusion: Chocolate products are high in fat and sugar, containing abundant unsaturated acids which are beneficial in moderate intake for health.