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Botany and Pharmacognosy of the Cacao Tree

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Chocolate and Health

Abstract

Cacao trees originated in river valleys of South America and, by the seventh century AD, the Mayan Indians had brought them north into Mexico. Apart from the Mayans, many other Central American Indians including the Aztecs and the Toltecs seem to have at first domesticated and then cultivated cacao trees, and the word “chocolate” (the beverage) derives from xhocolatl (approximate spelling) or cacahuatl, both originating from the Aztec language. There are several mixtures of cacao described in ancient texts, for ceremonial, medicinal and culinary purposes. Some mixtures included maize, chili, vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), peanut butter and honey. Archaeological evidence of the use of cacao, while relatively sparse, has come from the recovery of whole cacao beans in Uaxactun, Guatemala and from the preservation of wood fragments of the cacao tree at the Belize sites (ex British Honduras). In addition, analysis of residues from ceramic vessels has found traces of theobromine and caffeine in early formative vessels from Puerto Escondido, Honduras (1100–900 BC) and in middle formative vessels from Colha, Belize (600–400 BC) [1], [2].

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Lagenaria siceraria or Lagenaria vulgaris, the calabash, bottle gourd, squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not primarily for food but for use as a water container. The bottle gourd may have been brought from Africa to Asia, Europe and the Americas in the course of human migration [7].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Maria Laura Colombo

Authors
  1. Maria Laura Colombo
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  2. Maria Teresa Pinorini-Godly
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  3. Ario Conti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Laura Colombo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Alpine Foundation for Life Sciences Olivone, Ticino, Switzerland

    Ario Conti

  2. Nutrition Foundation of Italy, Milan, Italy

    Rodolfo Paoletti  & Andrea Poli  & 

  3. Laboratory of Functional Foods, IMDEA-Food, Madrid, Spain

    Francesco Visioli

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Colombo, M.L., Pinorini-Godly, M.T., Conti, A. (2012). Botany and Pharmacognosy of the Cacao Tree. In: Conti, A., Paoletti, R., Poli, A., Visioli, F. (eds) Chocolate and Health. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2038-2_4

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