: Theobroma: Food of the Gods
Cacao, source of the Chocolate

Even though the cacao bean was central to Mesoamerican life, only the very wealthy and powerful could afford to use it. In the market place, the beans were accepted as standard currency. On market day, three beans would purchase a turkey egg, 100 beans a slave or a dugout canoe, 65-300 beans a cotton mantle. Since the king and his appointees controlled the production and distribution of the beans from the groves, they also controlled inflation. Counterfeiting of the bean by scooping out the pulp and replacing it with wax or dirt was punishable by death. The value of the bean made counterfeiting worth the risk. Cacao beans continued to be used as standard currency until 1887 in Mexico.

Characteristics:

  • Anti-oxidant: same phenols as red wine, but in greater quantity
  • Cacao becomes cocoa by the fermentation of the beans
  • Caffeine-free
  • Chocolate shortage crisis can benefit rainforest
  • Cocoa butter: burn ointment, vaginal/rectal suppository, beauty cream, emollient. Seeds are 54% cocoa butter.
  • Contains high levels of fiber, carbohydrates, B vitamins and anti-oxidants like catechin and phenols. Calcium, Phosphates, Vitamins A, C and D are in smaller quantities.
  • Diuretic
  • Drought sensitive
  • Leaves are a roofing material.
  • Lindand in chocolate
  • Nitrogen sensitive: likes growing with NFTs such as Madre de cacao (Gliricidia, sepium) which also supplies coumarin, which is poisonous to rodents that would otherwise enjoy eating cacao beans
  • Phenylethylamine affects CNS
  • Pollenation by Ceratopogonidae midges, honey bees, red ants, and thrips
  • Royalty food: Inca, Maya, Aztec, then Europe
  • Shallow roots
  • Stimutes appetite
  • Theobromine, a purine alkaloid relative of caffeine: calming yet energizing
  • Wind sensitive: likes growth in understory of the rainforest
  • Wood is a fuel and source of potash for soap making.

: Ethnobotany:

Food (a mash of the seeds):

  • bitter spice
  • base for pasta and bread
  • hot & cold beverages
  • confectionery

Medicine (Seeds, Fruit, Leaves and Bark):

Actions:

  • Antiseptic
  • Cardiotonic
  • Diuretic
  • Dentifrice
  • Emmenagogue
  • Parasiticide
  • Vasodilator
  • Vulnerary

Parts of the Cacao plant in some cases including the seeds can help:

  • Alopecia
  • Burn
  • Cough
  • Dry-Lip
  • Eczema
  • Eye Conditions
  • Headache
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Kidney Conditions
  • Listlessness
  • Parturition
  • Pilatory
  • Rheumatism
  • Scabies
  • Snake Bite
  • Wounds

Oil of Theobroma, Cacao Butter, or Cocoa Butter is a yellowish-white solid with the odor of Cacao and a low melting point so that it melts at human body temperature. Cocoa butter is useful for:

  • ointments
  • coating pills
  • suppositories
  • emollient: softening/protecting chapped hands/lips
  • inflammation of the liver or other organs
  • mental stupor
  • febrifuge, especially with serious illness

: Chemistry:

The principal Alkaloid of the Cacao Bean is Theobromine (Theobromide), which is a close structural relative of caffeine. Theobromine is less intense in its stimulant action, while the effects on the muscles, kidneys and heart are stronger than caffeine. Seeds are about 2 per cent Theobromine, while shells are about 1 per cent Theobromine.

Adam Drewnowski at the University of Michigan found that eating Chocolate causes the brain to produce natural opiates, which dull pain and increase a feeling of well-being. Researchers at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, found three substances in Chocolate that "could act as cannabinoid mimics either directly (by activating cannabinoid receptors) or indirectly (by increasing anandamide levels)."

: Pharmacologically Active Components:

Class Compound percent by weight
Neurotransmitters Serotonin 0.62 - 5.82
  Histamine 0.04 - 0.13
Methylxanthines Theobromine < 1.3
  Caffeine not detected
Tetrahydroisoquinolines Salsolinol High
  Methyltetrahydroisoquinoline < 0.01
Amines Phenylethylamine 0.02 - 2.20
  Tele-methylhistamine 0.01 - 1.54
  Spermidine 0.05 - 1.15
  p-tyramine 0.02 - 0.35
  3-methyloxytyramine 0.02 - 0.33
  Tryptamine 0.03 - 0.18
  Spermine 0.00 - 0.13
     

Source: Biochemist, Apr/May 1993, p 15. copyright of Royal Society of Chemistry website 2000

Cacao contains approximately 380 known phytochemical compounds of which Raintree Nutrition lists 170.

Relatives of Theobroma

Cacao is in the same family as cola, but is not closely related to carob, cocaine, Coffee or Maté.

Carob is ground from the long, dried pods of the Evergreen Carob tree, native to the Orient. It contains no Theobromide and little fat. It contains calcium, phosphorous and iron. Carob powder, known as St. John's Bread, is used to produce cough syrup bases because it's pulp ferments well into alcohol due to it's high natural carbohydrate content (about 50%).

Biological Systematic Classification of Some Common Stimulants

Common name Cacao Cola Tea Coffee Maté Coca
Kingdom
Plantae
Sub-kingdom
Tracheobionta
Di-vision
Magnoliophyta: angiosperms: flowering-plants
Class
Magnoliopsida: dicotyledons
Sub-class
Dilleniidae
Asteridae
Rosidae
Order
Byttneriaceae: Malvales
 Theales Rubiales Celastrales Linales
Family
Sterculiaceae
 Theaceae Rubiaceae: madders Aquifoliaceae:
hollies		 Erythroxylaceae
Genus Theobroma Cola Camellia Coffea Ilex Erythroxylum
Species cacao pachycarpa sinensis arabica (Arabian)
benghalensis (bengal)
canephora (robusta)
congensis (congo)
liberica (Liberian)
stenophylla (coffea)		 paraguariensis coca
Sub-species cacao   sinensis      
Variety            
Native area South-America: Amazon South-America Asia Africa South-America South-America
Commercial products chocolate, cocoa butter cola green tea, black tea coffee yerba maté cocaine; coca cola

 

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