Chocolate Medicine

The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) has great potential to benefit the public health and

many of the countries where it is grown. There are some 150 different chemicals in its

leaves, fruits, seeds and bark. The medicinal use of the cocoa plant goes back into

antiquity to the Olmec, Mayan and Aztec civilisations.

According to leading research scientists flavanol - rich foods such as specific cocoas

could provide health benefits in the management of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

A study of two populations of Kuna Indians living on islands near Panama who drank

large quantities of a homemade, flavanol-rich cocoa each day compared to Kuna Indians

living in Panama City who drank little cocoa and when they did it was the commercially

produced variety relatively low in flavanols showed that the Kuna Indians still living on

the islands had much lower deaths from heart disease and cancer.

Other studies have shown that as well as significantly higher concentrations of flavanols

in their bloodstream, the island-dwelling Kuna Indians had higher levels of nitric oxide

metabolites - a marker for normal blood vessel function and healthy blood flow. It was

found that a specific nutrient in cocoa, the flavanol (-) epicatechin could help to improve

blood vessel relaxation. This nutrient is also found in in certain fruit and vegetables,

such as apples and grapes.

It was clear that the benefits of cocoa consumption are not exclusively linked to anti-

oxidant activity. Certain cocoa flavanols potentially inhibit biochemical pathways that

can cause inflammation, which can lead to the development of several health problems

including cardiovascular disease.

It is expected that there will be co-operation between major confectioners and

pharmaceutical companies to develop preparations based on flavanols. One of these may

be developed to create natural supplements to ease the symptoms of diarrhoea.