Portal:Medicine/Selected article/30, 2007



Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant, and is therefore found in chocolate. It is in the methylxanthine class of chemical compounds, which also includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine. Despite its name, the compound contains no bromine &mdash; theobromine is derived from Theobroma, the name of the genus of the cacao tree, (which itself is made up of the Greek roots theo ("God") and broma ("food"), meaning "food of the gods") with the suffix -ine given to alkaloids and other basic nitrogen-containing compounds.

Theobromine is a water insoluble, crystalline, bitter powder; the colour has been listed as either white or colourless.

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