Cocoa’s soluble fiber has all the same health benefits as traditional fiber. However, it is less gritty and has a light cocoa flavor that can enhance chocolate flavor applications, notes Natraceutical, which supplies the ingredient. Natraceutical has developed Soluble Cocoa Fiber (SCF) that is made from a patented process and is great for applications that assist with lowering cholesterol, regulating blood sugar and losing weight. SCF is made from the cocoa shell, using a patented process that increases the quantity of soluble fiber by enzymatic processes. The end ingredient is 37% to 42% soluble fiber with a good cocoa color and taste. In the U.S., it would appear on ingredient legends as “cocoa fiber.”
In collaboration with the CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, i.e., Spanish High Council for Scientific Research), Natraceutical completed a three-week preclinical study to investigate the health benefits of SCF. In this study, rats were divided into three groups: a control group (NC) that was fed a basic diet that contained 10% insoluble fiber (cellulose), a hyper-cholesterolemic group (HC) that was fed a low cholesterol diet that also contained 10% cellulose, and a HC group fed a low cholesterol diet that contained 10% SCF.