EFSA Compendium of Botanicals

Draft - work in progress

Cocoa (as plant) // Theobroma cacao L.

Family:: Malvaceae
Approval state:: Approved
Number of articles retrieved:: 6737
Number of processed references:: 2

Compositions

Endpoint Studies

#1: Theobromine toxic to dogs (and cats)

Genotoxicity

Composition #1: Johnston, J.J. Evaluation of cocoa- and coffee-derived methylxanthines as toxicants for the control of pest coyotes. journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2005, vol. 53, no. 10, p. 4069–4075. DOI: 10.1021/jf050166p. [DOI link]

Language:

English (en)
Plant part:

Seed (as part-nature) (A066P)
Extraction/Preparation method:

Powder (A06JD)
Additional extraction description:

cacao preparation (fermentation + drying + roasting)
Substance:

Theobromine (RF-00000334-TOX)
Analytical method code:

HPLC-DAD (F587A)
Result unit:

Milligram/gram (G060A)
Result type:

Numerical Value (VAL)
Value (concentration, content):

40
Internal remarks:

theobromine in seeds

Endpoint study #1: Wishart, DS., Jewison, T., Guo, AC., Wilson, M., Knox, C., Liu, Y., Djoumbou, Y., Mandal, R., Aziat, F., Dong, E., Bouatra, S., Sinelnikov, I., Arndt, D., Xia, J., Liu, P., Yallou, F., Bjorndahl, T., Perez-Pineiro, R., Eisner, R., Allen, F., Neveu, V., Greiner, R., Scalbert, A. Theobromine (HMDB02825).. human metabolome database, 2006, vol. 3.0 . .

Study relevance:

Animal (target species) health
Substance:

Theobromine (RF-00000334-TOX)
Plant part:

Seed (as part-nature) (A066P)
Additional plant/substance description:

chocolate
Type of toxicological test:

case report (CHD060TT)
Tested organism:

Dog (as animal) (A0CNL)
Route of exposure:

ORAL: FEED (OECD2230PL)
Endpoint measured:

Dose not reported (CHD066EP)
Critical effect:

NEUROTOXICITY (TOX04A)
Target tissue:

neurologic: Central Nervous System (TT035A)
Effect description:

Lower metabolisation of theobromine in dogs and cats leading to neurotoxicity and death.
Effect or parameter linked to the endpoint:

mortality (CHD010BE)
Internal remarks:

Theobromine toxic to dogs (and cats)