Cocoa and chocolate, in addition to the strong polyphenolic antioxidant component, contain bioactive substances capable of influencing human behavior; some of them are capable of creating a slight addiction, up to an inordinate craving for chocolate, especially in depressed individuals who after taking them feel a sort of satisfaction called the “craving effect”.
Biogenic amines are basic products that derive from microbial decarboxylation carried out on some amino acids; represent vasoactive molecules which - if introduced in sufficient quantities, or simultaneously with other drugs that inhibit the enzymes that catabolize them (eg MAOI) - can cause redness of the face, headache, hypotensive shock, even death from cardiocirculatory shock.
Fortunately, in cocoa these amines do not reach high levels that could represent a danger; however, these are present as in all fermented foods also in chocolate, which mainly contains 2-phenylethylamine (from phenylalanine decarboxylation), followed by tyramine (from tyrosine) and tryptamine (from tryptophan).
Phenylethylamine, present in fair quantities, is a molecule that has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines, of which it partially shares the neuropharmacological effects, binding to the same receptors; it can mimic the effects of dopamine and noradrenaline, promoting wakefulness and delaying the onset of fatigue
It is precisely the 2-phenylethylamine that causes the craving for chocolate “craving effect”. Thanks to the effects mentioned above, this substance is considered a “natural antidepressant”.
Purine alkaloids, or methylxanthines, characterize all foods which, such as cocoa, tea, coffee, etc., are defined as "nerve foods".
In cocoa, caffeine is present in quantities ranging from 0.6 to 0.8%, but the alkaloid most present is theobromine: its concentration in the cotyledons ranges from 2 to 2.7%.
These substances stimulate the central nervous system (hence the "nervine" adjective) and increase concentration and wakefulness, and theobromine is a coronary and renal vasodilator, with a marked diuretic action compared to caffeine.
During the fermentation of cocoa beans, theobromine - which is compartmentalized in the cells of the cotyledon - migrates into the husk of the seed; in fact, it represents one of the peel extraction and recovery products: extracted with organic solvents, it is purified and marketed as a drug (anti-asthmatic).
Theobromine and caffeine (methylxanthines) have the prerogative to raise the attention level of the brain, promote concentration and remove the sensation of fatigue.
In cocoa there are also modest concentrations of Tetrahydroisoquinolines, TIQ: these substances are very important because they are responsible for the “antidepressant” mechanisms that chocolate can exert on humans.
Cocoa and chocolate contain two TIQs, salsolinol and salsolin, dopamine-derived alkaloids that form naturally also in the human brain; the TIQs, therefore, are dopaminergic compounds that have different pharmacological effects, which ultimately result in an antidepressant effect:
- Inhibition of MAOs;
- Inhibition of thyroxine hydroxylase and catecholamine uptake;
- Inhibition of cyclic AMP formation and B-endorphin release.
As the last substance of interest of cocoa, able to act on the tone of the mood, we find the "Anandamide: this is an endogenous lipid able to bind to the CB1 cannabinoid receptor, therefore able to generate behavioral effects and produce effects on the mood and cognitive functions, such as learning and memory.
Cold Chocolate Cake and Puffed Rice
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