New light on the use of Theobroma cacao by Late Classic Maya.

Cacao seeds, Theobroma cacao, provide the basis for a ceremonially important Mesoamerican food. Past efforts to identify cacao in ceramics focused on highly decorative vessel forms associated with elite ceremonial contexts, creating assumptions as to how cacao was distributed and who could access it. This study examines 54 archaeological ceramic sherds from El Pilar (Belize/Guatemala) of Late Classic (600 to 900 CE) residential and civic contexts representing a cross-section of ancient Maya inhabitants. Identification of cacao in ancient sherds has depended on the general presence of theobromine; we used the discrete presence of theophylline, a unique key biomarker for cacao in the region. Analysis was done by grinding off all outside surfaces to reduce contamination, pulverizing the inner clay matrix, extracting absorbed molecules, and concentrating the extractions. In order to obtain especially high selectivity and low limits of detection, our study utilized the technique of resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization coupled with laser-desorption jet-cooling mass spectrometry. This technique isolates molecules in the cold gas phase where they can be selectively ionized through a resonant two-photon process. Of the sherds analyzed, 30 samples (56%) were found to contain significant amounts of theophylline and thus test positive for cacao. Importantly, cacao is present in all contexts, common to all Maya residents near and far from centers.

[Louis-Marie Rousseau and the "Chocolat rationnel des pharmaciens français" (Rational Chocolate of French pharmacists)]. / Louis-Marie Rousseau et le "Chocolat rationnel des pharmaciens français".

In 1883, the chemist Louis-Marie Rousseau (1849-1930) creats the "Compagnie hygiénique française" (French Hygienic Company). The company manufactures and sells the "Poudre de viande Rousseau" (Rousseau meat powder) and the "Chocolat Rousseau" (Rousseau Chocolate) by methods developed and patented by the pharmacist. Ten years after a successful collaboration, L.-M. Rousseau separates from his associates and founds the "Chocolaterie spéciale d'Ermont" (Special Chocolate factory of Ermont) in the village of Ermont near Paris. Here is manufactured the "Chocolat Rationnel des pharmaciens français" (Rational Chocolate of French pharmacists), hygienic chocolate sold only in pharmacies. The factory is also a pharmaceutical laboratory where is extracted theobromine from waste vegetable substances of cocoa. It then produces the "Théobromine Rousseau cristallisée" (crystallized Rousseau's Theobromine) sold as tablets, then the "Théosol" that will be commercialized until the middle of 1930s.

Sin and pleasure: the history of chocolate in medicine.

In ancient Mayan texts cocoa is considered a gift of the gods: Pre-Columbian populations used chocolate as medicine, too. After the discovery of America, chocolate was introduced in Europe, but Christian Europe looked to this new exhilarating drink with extreme suspiciousness and criticism. From this reaction, the necessity derived to appeal to the reasons of health, with which doctors and scientists committed themselves to explain that chocolate was good for the body. However, during the Enlightment, the road of therapy separated from that of taste, and chocolate mainly maintained its leading role of excipient, bearing the burden, over time, of a negative valence, being associated with obesity, dental problems, unhealthy lifestyle, and so forth. The rehabilitation of chocolate has arisen only in recent times, re-establishing that value that Linnaeus himself credited to chocolate, calling the generous plant Theobroma cacao, food of the gods.

The history and science of chocolate.

This article gives an account of the origins, evolution and properties of chocolate. Chocolate is processed from the pod or cabosside of the cacao plant, grown in the tropical belt. The origins of chocolate are traced back to the Maya people who were probably the first to cultivate the cacao plant. The early chocolate drink, considered a "drink of the Gods" was mixed with cinnamon and pepper, tasting bitter and strong, and was most appreciated for its invigorating and stimulating effects than for its taste. Imported from the Americas, the softened version soon spread in Europe. From the 1800s to the 20th Century, it evolved from a drink to its current pleasurable varieties (such as fondant, Gianduja, milky and white chocolate), gaining much momentum in industry and also made great impact as a romantic item and art form. Important components in chocolate are flavonoids (antioxidants), cocoa butter, caffeine, theobromine and phenylethylamine, whereas the presence of psychoactive substances account for its pleasurable effects. Caffeine, theophylline and theobromine constitutes the methylxanthines, known to enhance the action of cAMP, which plays an important role in the transmission of intracellular signals. Chocolate is noted to have anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and cardioprotective effects, and improves the bioavailability of nitric oxide, which action improves the pressure, platelet function and fluidity of blood.

Cocoa and heart health: a historical review of the science.

The medicinal use of cocoa has a long history dating back almost five hundred years when Hernán Cortés's first experienced the drink in Mesoamerica. Doctors in Europe recommended the beverage to patients in the 1700s, and later American physicians followed suit and prescribed the drink in early America--ca. 1800s. This article delineates the historic trajectory of cocoa consumption, the linkage between cocoa's bioactive-mechanistic properties, paying special attention to nitric oxides role in vasodilation of the arteries, to the current indicators purporting the benefits of cocoa and cardiovascular health.

Chocolate in history: food, medicine, medi-food.

Throughout history, chocolate has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments, and in recent years, multiple studies have found that chocolate can have positive health effects, providing evidence to a centuries-long established use; this acknowledgement, however, did not have a straight course, having been involved in religious, medical and cultural controversies. Christian Europe, in fact, feared the exhilarating effects of new drinks, such as chocolate, coffee and tea. Therefore, these beverages would have been banished, had not doctors and scientists explained that they were good for the body. The scientific debate, which reached its peak in Florence in the 18th century, regarded the therapeutic effectiveness of the various chocolate components: it was necessary to know their properties first, in order to prepare the best cacao concoction for every patient. When Dietetics separated from Medicine, however, chocolate acquired the role of vehicle for easing the administration of bitter medicines, being associated to different health problems. The recent rediscovery of the beneficial use of cacao and chocolate focuses upon its value as supplemental nutrition. Building a bridge to the past may be helpful to detect the areas where the potential health benefits of chocolate are likely to be further explored.

Insight into the wild origin, migration and domestication history of the fine flavour Nacional Theobroma cacao L. variety from Ecuador.

Ecuador's economic history has been closely linked to Theobroma cacao L cultivation, and specifically to the native fine flavour Nacional cocoa variety. The original Nacional cocoa trees are presently in danger of extinction due to foreign germplasm introductions. In a previous work, a few non-introgressed Nacional types were identified as potential founders of the modern Ecuadorian cocoa population, but so far their origin could not be formally identified. In order to determine the putative centre of origin of Nacional and trace its domestication history, we used 80 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to analyse the relationships between these potential Nacional founders and 169 wild and cultivated cocoa accessions from South and Central America. The highest genetic similarity was observed between the Nacional pool and some wild genotypes from the southern Amazonian region of Ecuador, sampled along the Yacuambi, Nangaritza and Zamora rivers in Zamora Chinchipe province. This result was confirmed by a parentage analysis. Based on our results and on data about pre-Columbian civilization and Spanish colonization history of Ecuador, we determined, for the first time, the possible centre of origin and migration events of the Nacional variety from the Amazonian area until its arrival in the coastal provinces. As large unexplored forest areas still exist in the southern part of the Ecuadorian Amazonian region, our findings could provide clues as to where precious new genetic resources could be collected, and subsequently used to improve the flavour and disease resistance of modern Ecuadorian cocoa varieties.

Cacao use and the San Lorenzo Olmec.

Mesoamerican peoples had a long history of cacao use--spanning more than 34 centuries--as confirmed by previous identification of cacao residues on archaeological pottery from Paso de la Amada on the Pacific Coast and the Olmec site of El Manatí on the Gulf Coast. Until now, comparable evidence from San Lorenzo, the premier Olmec capital, was lacking. The present study of theobromine residues confirms the continuous presence and use of cacao products at San Lorenzo between 1800 and 1000 BCE, and documents assorted vessels forms used in its preparation and consumption. One elite context reveals cacao use as part of a mortuary ritual for sacrificial victims, an event that occurred during the height of San Lorenzo's power.

Notes on the history of caffeine use.

As behooves something so deeply entrenched in culture, the historical origins of the use of methylxanthines are unknown and dressed in myth. This is true for coffee as well as tea, and for both it is interesting to note that their common use is really very recent. For coffee we know that its use became more widespread in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and in Europe this occurred in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The use of tea became more common during the Ming Dynasty in China and during the eighteenth century in Britain. Coffee was mostly an upper-class drink in Arabia, and remained a relative luxury in Europe until quite recently. The use of other methylxanthine-containing beverages, such as maté, is even less well known. It is interesting to note that before these drinks were commonly used on a daily basis they were used for medicinal purposes, indicating that their pharmacological actions had long been noted.

[The pharmacist Ludovic Dardenne and his chocolate hundred-years-old]. / Le pharmacien Ludovic Dardenne et son chocolat centenaire.

Launched in 1910, the brand "Yo-Yo" made the fame of the chocolate factory of the pharmacist Ludovic Dardenne for Luchon. It was then replaced by a "chocolate of regime" still marketed nowadays. The authors present three elements susceptible to inform this transformation: the first presentation of the chocolate Yo-Yo, its patent of manufacturing such as it was registred in 1911, and two typographic patches praising the merits of the chocolate of regime in the 60's.

Discovering terroir in the world of chocolate.

The author investigates the applicability of the word "terroir" to chocolate. As a Master of Wine, wine journalist, and wine educator, the author has tried to understand how "terroir," the environmental and human factors associated with growing vines and making wine, impacts the flavor of wine. Comparing and contrasting viticulture and winemaking to cacao farming and chocolate manufacture, the author analyzes to what degree terroir could be a concept that informs chocolate appreciation. He notes that the great distances between cacao farms and factories encourage the perception of cacao and chocolate as commodities. He observes that the varietal and origin nomenclature of cacao can be at worst misleading and generally lacks clarity and precision. He shows how the many steps that transform cacao into chocolate threaten the expression of terroir in the final product. Yet he acknowledges that there could be a basis for use of the word in the world of cacao and chocolate.

Chocolate and medicine: dangerous liaisons?

According to ancient Mayan texts, cocoa is of divine origin and is considered a gift from the gods. In the Classic period of Mayan civilization (250-900 a.d.), ground cocoa seeds were mixed with seasonings to make a bitter, spicy drink that was believed to be a health-promoting elixir. The Aztecs believed that cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility, and that eating the fruit of the cocoa tree allowed them to acquire wisdom and power. Cocoa was said to have nourishing, fortifying, and aphrodisiac qualities. Pre-Columbian societies were known to use chocolate as medicine, too. The appreciation and popularity of chocolate fluctuated over the centuries since its introduction to Europe from the New World. Now, recent evidence has begun to erase the poor reputation that chocolate had acquired in the past few decades and is restoring its former status. Chocolate is no longer deemed a guilty pleasure, and it may have positive health benefits when eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet.

Colonial foresters versus agriculturalists: the debate over climate change and cocoa production in the Gold Coast.

This article draws attention to the unfolding debate concerning forest cover loss, climatic change, and declining cocoa production in the Gold Coast (colonial Ghana) during the early twentieth century. It argues that, although desiccationist theory was prevalent, its acceptance among colonial authorities in the Gold Coast was far from hegemonic. There were important dissenting colonial voices, particularly among agriculturalists, who argued that declining cocoa yields were due to plant diseases, most notably cocoa swollen shoot disease. It was based on the latter's non-environmental model of disease transmission, rather than the premises of desiccation science, that the government's postwar "cutting out campaign" of cocoa was predicated. Nevertheless, the foresters' correlation of the deterioration of cocoa areas with fears of desiccation was not without its effects on state practice, providing the rationale for an accelerated program of forest reservations in the 1930s.