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Cocoa Bean Extract
The biologically active component in cocoa beans is an alkaloid also known as theobromine, and it is this compound which gives dark chocolates their slightly bitter edge. Theobromine is one of a class of alkaloids and is found in the majority of products from the cocoa tree. Unsweetened baker's chocolate contains over 400 mg/oz or 14 g/kg.
Other common methylaxanthines, which are prevalent in over 60 different species of plants, are caffeine and theophylline which are common in coffee and tea respectively.Theobromine has a similar stimulant effect to caffeine. It is about 10 times weaker but the effect is longer lasting as it is only metabolised slowly. It also has diuretic and relaxing effects, and lowers blood pressure as it dilates blood vessels.
This extract is sometimes promoted for weight loss, but it has no known activity that would suggest that it is useful for this purpose.
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