Cacao plant

The cacao plant, Theobroma cacao, is the source of chocolate which is well known and highly prized in international commerce. The cacao pods contain beans which are fermented and pressed to provide a brown liquid which is the raw material for chocolate. The press cake is ground and sold as cocoa and it also provides a brown colorant. The pods, beans, shells, husks and stems have also been suggested as colorants. They contain a very complex mixture of acyl acids, leucoanthocyanins, flavonoid polymers, tannins, and catechin-type polymers.33... 

Thrips. Important losses due to thrips injury to cacao trees have been recorded in areas of the West Indies, West Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and other areas of cacao cultivation. One of the species implicated is Selenothrips rubrocinctus, which is abundant largely in the nymphal stages and particularly in unshaded cacao plantings. Injury to fruits of cacao by thrips is confined only to the skin and is considered of little importance. 

Crozier J et al. Molecular characterization of fungal endophytic morphospecies isolated from stems and pods of Theobroma cacao, Plant Pathol 55 783—791, 2006. 

Only a small amount of caffeine is found in the cacao plant and chocolate. The principal alkaloid in the cacao plant is theobromine, which is almost identical to caffeine, but differs by having one less methyl group. Theobromine does not contain bromine but derives its name... 

Theobroma cacao ( theobroma means food of the gods ) is the scientific name for the cacao plant that produces the bean that is used to make chocolate. Cacoa is a tropical plant, a smaU evergreen tree that grows in the jungles of Central America and the Amazon and produces large pods full of cacao beans. Recent evidence suggests that this plant was first domesticated in South America and then spread through Central America. The beans were so important in Mesoamerica that they were used as currency in some areas. 

Exemplarily, the biosynthesis of salsolinol (11) is outlined in Scheme 12.2. Salsolinol has been isolated from various plant sources, such as the cacao plant [8], banana fruits [9], marine sponges [10], and several Corydalis species (Papaveraceae) [11]. Generally, tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids can be obtained via condensation of the corresponding phenylethylamine with an aldehyde (top hne. Scheme 12.2) and subsequent Pictet-Spengler reaction, or alternatively via condensation of the requisite ketoacid, followed by... 

The cacao tree is a "cauliflorous" plant in that the flowers grow on the old wood of the trunk and main branches. Trees may produce 10,000 or more flowers in a year however, only 10 to 50 eventually develop into ripe pods 4 to 6 months later. Two standard crops are harvested each year although fruits in various stages of development may be continually on the tree. Cacao trees begin to bear significant amounts of fruit when they are 4 to 8 years old, and continue to do so for 50 years or more. 

Aneja M, Gianfagna T (2001) Induction and accumulation of caffeine in young, actively growing leaves of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) by wounding or infection with Crinipellis pemiciosa. Physiol Mol Plant Pathol 59 13-16... 

The problems of diseases and pests will not be solved merely by a chemical formula that inhibits or destroys fungus spores in vitro. A pesticide ought to have the ability to remain on the plant surfaces long enough to prevent or destroy disease agents and to destroy disease vectors before they attack. This is difficult to achieve under the severe weather conditions of the tropical moist forest, the natural habitat of cacao, where the chemical deposited is in many cases washed away by heavy rain. The inherent tenacity of a fungicide could be improved by the addition of adhesives. An effective adhesive or an alternative for use in combination with fungicides or insecticides in the tropics has not yet been developed. 

Recent studies conducted in Colombia (29) appear to show, however, that copper fungicides have a certain deleterious effect on the fertilization of cacao flowers unless they are used in combination with urea and plant hormones. This does not, as yet, exclude the use of copper fungicides (38). The increases (38, 44) brought about by copper fungicides in Costa Rica appear to counteract the detrimental effects. 

Wellman, F. L., Some Important Diseases of Cacao, FAO Plant Protection... 

Acetic acid occurs naturally in many plant species including Merrill flowers Telosma cordata), in which it was detected at a concentration of 2,610 ppm (Furukawa et al., 1993). In addition, acetic acid was detected in cacao seeds (1,520 to 7,100 ppm), celery, blackwood, blueberry juice (0.7 ppm), pineapples, licorice roots (2 ppm), grapes (1,500 to 2,000 ppm), onion bulbs, oats, horse chestnuts, coriander, ginseng, hot peppers, linseed (3,105 to 3,853 ppm), ambrette, and chocolate vines (Duke, 1992). 

Some plants produce a mixture of fatty acids (Table 11.3). The fat in seeds of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) contains a mixture of stearic and palmitic acids. The fat is known as cocoa butter from its resemblance to the butter produced from cow s milk (see Box 11.2). 

One of the world s most popular flavors is determined by a physical-chemical composition which starts with the seeds of the plant, Theobroma cacao, and continues with an empirical process discovered and perfected by the Aztecs, or by an earlier society from whom the Aztecs received it. 

Caffeine, the active substance responsible for the stimulant effect of the coffee plant s berry, is a methyl-xanthine, one of the family of stimulants present in more than 60 species of plants. The pure chemical forms white, bitter-tasting crystals, which were first isolated from coffee in 1820. Other family members are theophylline, found in tea leaves, and theobromine, found in the cacao pods that are ground to make chocolate. The most potent component in the coffee family by unit weight is theophylline, while theobromine, the weakest component by unit weight, stays in the body longer than does caffeine. 

Cacao Nibs Cacao nibs are crushed bits of cacao beans—which are actually not beans at all, but seeds from the Theobroma plant. Most often, these beans are dried or roasted and then extracted to make cocoa butter for chocolate, or ground into powder to make cocoa powder. Cacao nibs are crushed cacao beans that have not been made into chocolate or cocoa powder. You can find them raw or roasted, and they resemble espresso beans in texture and crunch. They contain no added sugar, so they re bittersweet. They add great texture to cookies—I even use them as a topping for ice cream. They can be found at most specialty and health-food stores or online. Make sure you buy the finely ground variety. 

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