Professor Koga's research group discovered that the seed coat of cacao beans contains high concentrations of ceramide, a compound used in cosmetics and health foods.Utsunomiya Campus

A research group led by Professor Jinichiro Koga Environment and Biotechnology Course Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Integrated Science and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Teikyo University, in collaboration with Meiji Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Bunjiro Yao), has discovered that fermented cocoa bean seed coats (cocoa husk) contain high concentrations (over 0.14%) of ceramide ^*, an expensive material widely used in cosmetics and health foods.
Cocoa husk is not used in the production of chocolate, and its value has not been recognized until now. The results of this research are expected to add value to cocoa husk and make effective use of it as a highly concentrated ceramide resource, and because it contains a high amount of ceramide, it is also expected to significantly reduce the cost of extraction and refining as a material, as well as reduce the environmental impact.
Based on this research, Meiji Co., Ltd. believed that ceramides derived from cocoa husk could be used as a food ingredient, and in September 2025 launched the beauty chocolate "Cacao Beaute," the first product to use ceramides derived from cocoa husk.
We will continue to utilize the strengths of both parties to explore the possibilities of utilizing this material, and will also seek to clarify the reason why cacao husk has a high ceramide content and the physiological role of the ceramide contained in cacao.

• * A general term for glucosylceramide and free ceramide. Glucosylceramide is a complex lipid consisting of three structures: glucose, a long-chain base, and a fatty acid. When glucose is released from glucosylceramide, the substance consisting of a long-chain base and a fatty acid is called free ceramide.

Press release here
For more information about Professor Jinichiro Koga, click here.
For more information about the Biomolecular Chemistry Laboratory (Jinichiro Koga Laboratory), click here
For more information on Meiji Co., Ltd.'s "Cacao Beaute," click here.

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