Juniper, Tony (25 January 2020). "How climate change has altered cocoa farming in Ivory Coast". www.greenbiz.com. Head, Brandon (1903). The Food of the Gods: A Popular Account of Cocoa. London: R. B. Johnson. p.ii. Verlière G (1970) Influence de l’humidité du sol sur le développement du cacaoyer. Café, Cacao Thé 14(4):265–274 Oke, D. O.; Odebiyi, K. A. (2007). "Traditional cocoa-based agroforestry and forest species conservation in Ondo State, Nigeria". Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 122 (3): 305–311. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2007.01.022.

The highest levels of cocoa flavanols are found in raw cocoa and to a lesser extent, dark chocolate, since flavonoids degrade during cooking used to make chocolate. [98] Methylxanthines [ edit ] Structure of theobromine ( IUPAC name: 3,7-dimethyl-1 H-purine-2,6-dione)Theobroma cacao ( cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small (6–12m (20–39ft) tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. [1] [3] Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. [4] Native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Ivory Coast, at 2.2 million tons. Its leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50cm (4–20in) long and 5–10cm (2–4in) broad. Appiah MR, Ofori-Frimpong K, Afrifa AA (2000) Evaluation of fertilizer application on some peasant cocoa farms in Ghana. Ghana J Agric Sci 33:183–190 Diagram to show how the downstream effects of cocoa polyphenols might affect the vascular system, with nitric oxide (NO) as the target. Endothelial dysfunction, lipoprotein oxidation, platelet aggregation, and inflammation all increase cardiovascular risk (+), whereas vascular effects of cocoa polyphenols reduce risk (−) from these intermediary factors. Reprinted with permission from Cooper et al. ( 41). eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Balasimha D, Daniel EV, Bhat PG (1991) Influence of environmental factors on photosynthesis in cocoa trees. Agric For Meteorol 55(1–2):15–21. doi: 10.1016/0168-1923(91)90019-M

Welcome to the Cacao Genome Project – Cacao Genome Database". Cacaogenomedb.org. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018 . Retrieved 19 July 2018. The News on Chocolate is Bittersweet: No Progress on Child Labor, but Fair Trade Chocolate is on the Rise" (PDF). Global Exchange. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2010 . Retrieved 1 July 2010. Silva Moço MK, Gama-Rodrigues EF, Gama-Rodrigues AC, Machado RCR, Baligar VC (2009) Soil and litter fauna of cacao agroforestry systems in Bahia, Brazil. Agrofor Syst 76:127–138 The majority of research on cocoa and health has been in the form of clinical trials on surrogate markers. However, a few prospective cohort studies are notable. An early ecological study investigated coronary mortality in relation to consumption of coffee, tea, cocoa, alcohol, and tobacco in 20 countries, but found no significant associations ( 28). Later studies have mostly supported a protective association between cocoa or chocolate consumption and a variety of health indicators. These include total and cardiovascular mortality, serum C-reactive protein, psychological well-being, and risk of diabetes, myocardial infarction, and/or stroke ( 30, 59, 116, 189, 236). The initial domestication was probably related to the making of a fermented, thus alcoholic, beverage. [35] In 2018, researchers who analysed the genome of cultivated cacao trees concluded that the domesticated cacao trees all originated from a single domestication event that occurred about 3,600 years ago somewhere in Central America. [36]Giller, M.; Laiskonis, M. (2017). Bean-to-bar Chocolate: America's Craft Chocolate Revolution: the Origins, the Makers, and the Mind-blowing Flavors. Storey Publishing. p.224. ISBN 978-1-61212-821-4 . Retrieved 28 October 2017. Aneani F, Ofori-Frimpong K (2013) An analysis of yield Gap and some factors of cocoa ( Theobroma cacao) yields in Ghana. Sustain Agric Res 2(4):117–127 Many major chocolate production companies around the world have started to prioritize buying fair trade cocoa by investing in fair trade cocoa production, improving fair trade cocoa supply chains and setting purchasing goals to increase the proportion of fair trade chocolate available in the global market. [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] Cocoa". Drugs.com. 6 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021 . Retrieved 3 September 2020.

Afrifa AA, Zaharah AR, Adu Ampomah Y, Appiah MR, Ofori-Frimpong K (2003) Use of 32P and 15N to determine the efficiency of utilization of phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers in cocoa seedlings. Paper presented at the 14th international cocoa Research Conference, Accra (Ghana), 2003 Cocoa powder, a powder made by removing most of the cocoa butter from ground cacao seeds, or its derivatives, such as Dutch process cocoa Mac Donald JA (1934) Some effects of deficiencies of essential nutrient elements on the growth of young cacao plants. lCTA, Trinidad, 83–85 p Flavonoids, flavan-3-ols, and their oligomeric derivatives, procyanidins, have a variety of beneficial physiologic actions. Flavonoids have a number of properties that may contribute to their cardioprotective effects, including antioxidant and antiplatelet activity, immunoregulatory properties, and beneficial effects on the endothelium ( 42). The epicatechin content of cocoa is primarily responsible for its favorable impact on vascular endothelium, which is the result of both acute and chronic upregulation of nitric oxide production ( 222, 277). The combined catechin/epicatechin content in chocolate is 460–610mg/kg ( 150). Epicatechins improve vascular function, reduce BP, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce platelet activity ( 42). Epicatechin in cocoa quenches OH· 100 times more effectively than mannitol, a typical OH· scavenger ( 239). Sensational Chocolates: Discover the Intense Robust flavor of 100% 'Grand Cru' Chocolate". Sensational Chocolates. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008 . Retrieved 17 May 2008.

Cocoa production is likely to be affected in various ways by the expected effects of global warming. Specific concerns have been raised concerning its future as a cash crop in West Africa, the current centre of global cocoa production. If temperatures continue to rise, West Africa could simply become unfit to grow the beans. [78] [79] The International Center for Tropical Agriculture warned in a paper published in 2013 that Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, the world's two top cocoa growers, will experience a decline in suitable areas for cocoa production as global temperatures rise by up to 2°C by 2050. [80] Main articles: Children in cocoa production and Harkin–Engel Protocol Collecting beans after drying Yeasts key for cacao bean fermentation and chocolate quality". Confectionery News. 15 May 2013 . Retrieved 2 February 2014. Somarriba E, Beer J, Muschler RG (2001) Research methods for multistrata agroforestry systems with coffee and cocoa: recommendations from two decades of research at CATIE. Agrofor Syst 53:195–203