PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

The antioxidant and antidiabetic properties of honey have led to studies exploring using honey powder as a sugar substitute in chocolate innovation for its health benefits. In this study, sugar was substituted with 70% honey powder to evaluate the effect on the antioxidant, alpha-amylase inhibition, and calorie value of dark chocolate. The honey powder was produced by adding 70% of either dextrose (honey/dextrose, H/D), maltodextrin (honey/maltodextrin, H/M), or sucrose (honey/sucrose, H/S) and vacuum dried at 40°C for 6 hr. The substitution of honey powder into chocolate at a 70% level was based on the preliminary study, which showed the most acceptable particle size value. The addition of honey powder into dark chocolate showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in antioxidant capacity, assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and ferric reducing antioxidant power. Chocolate containing H/M showed the highest antioxidant capacity for both assays, followed by chocolate with H/D, H/S, and the control. Alpha amylase inhibition was also significantly higher (p < 0.05) for H/M chocolate relative to other samples. The calorie values of dark chocolate were not affected by the honey powder substitution, which remained at 600 kcal/100 g. Therefore, chocolate containing H/M showed the best properties due to its highest antioxidant capacities and alpha-amylase inhibition effect. Hence, it can be recommended for further application in chocolate.

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