Distribución
Ampliamente cultivada en Amazonía, Cajamarca, Cuzco, Huánuco, Junín, Loreto, Madre de Dios, San Martín.

Usos

Fruto
Tos seca: se cocina la cáscara de la semilla, obteniéndose un chocolate espeso; tomar una taza tres veces al día.

Origin
The original center of radiation is probably the Upper Orinoco-Amazonas region from where the species spread to the Pacific coast and to Central America and Mexico (BRUCHER 1989), as well as to Guiana and Brazil. CUATRECASAS (1964) writes that 'a natural population had been spread throughout the central part of Amazonia-Guiana westwards and northwards to the south of Mexico ... .'. This means that Central America is not the gene center of cacao, but a secondary region of diversification and domestication under the guidance of the highly developed Oltec and Mayas (BRUCHER 1989, LATHRAP 1973).

Historical background
Curiously, the tree and the product are distinguished by 2 different names both of which are deduced from Indian names. The term cacao is generally used to design the tree and the crop, while cocoa means the seed kernel and the beverage which is prepared from the roasted and ground beans. The term cacao is derived from the maya 'kakau', this from 'kaj-kaj', which means bitter and from 'kab' which means juice. The Aztecs called the tree cacahuatl and considered it as a 'food of the gods'. Basing on the leg ends of the Indians, botanists gave the tree the name Theobroma cacao, because Linne objected to the generic name 'cacao' which he considered a Nomen barbarum. The name chocolate, designating the solid product of the cacao tree is likewise derived from an aztec expression 'xocatl' which gave rise to the Mexican expression 'chocoatl'. The Spanish conquerors '(conquistadores)' found cacao already cultivated in Mexico. It was not only used as food, but also as a currency. According to OVIEDO (BRUCHER 1989), a slave could be bought in Nicaragua for 100 seeds, a rabbit was sold for 10 seeds. The first cacao fruits were taken to Europe by Hernan Cortes in 1582. Chocolate consumption became more popular when C. J. van Houten developed a new process of chocolate manufacture by eliminating the excess of fat and by adding sugar.

Occurrence
Theobroma is an exclusively neotropical genus. Theobroma cacao is now in cultivation everywhere in tropical countries. Due to cultivation and easy hybridization, differentiation of varieties is difficult. In Venezuela, 2 varieties, the Criollo, and the Forastero-Amaz6nico are known. This latter type grows wild in the surroundings of Amazonas and Orinoco, according to HOYOS (1989). For further information concerning varieties in Venezuela see HOYOS 1989.

Ethnobotanical and general use

Nutritional use
Mexican Aztecs who appreciated cacao as a beverage, planted and selected it long before the Spaniards came. Brazilian Indians, used the fruit pulp for culinary purposes only. It appears that only the elite class of the Mayas and Aztecs were allowed to drink the precious beverage, mixed with maize flour, vanilla and pepper, and to enjoy its high content of stimulating alkaloids. It is reported by the Spaniards that the emperor Moctezuma drank daily 400 cups of hot xocolaltl. Today, the pericarp is split open to remove the seeds from the pulp and to subject them to a fermentation process. The purpose of fermentation is to free the beans from the pulp and to prevent germiantion. Besides during fermentation, the bitter taste is reduced and the aroma is enhanced. The testa changes to a pale brown and the beans become plumper, due to absorption of water by the cotyledons. At the same time, the colour of the seed is altered due to disintegration of the tannins into glucose and into a brown pigment (cacao red). The fermented beans are then washed, dried and roasted. These processes make the shell brittle so that it can be removed. The cotyledonous matter known as the nib is ground to prepare the cocoa mass from which much of the fat is extracted. Cacao powder is obtained through a further grinding. Besides the cocoa beverage and the further processed solid chocolate, the by-products can also be used. The cocoa shells are sometimes used to produce cocoa tea. They can furthermore be used as a fodder for animals, but must be fed to cattle with care because of the presence of theobromine. The shells contain about 3 o/o fat and 14-16 o/o protein. Ground shells are occasionally added to the cocoa powder as an adulterant. They are however easily recognized anatomically under the microscope, principally owing to the presence of slime cells and the sclerenchymatous layer with u-shaped thickenings. Further adulterants, such as starch and flour, are easily recognized by the different shape of the starch grains. The following adulterations are known: wheat, rice, oats, barley, and banana starch, as well as oak and chestnut starch. Further admixtures are possible: condiments such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, macis, coriander and vanilla, even cola and coffee are added. Jellies are prepared from the pulp of the fruit which contains theobromine and caffeine or - by fermentation - alcoholic drinks and vinegar. Economical utilization Maya merchants and other Indians used cacao beans as currency. The yearly tribute oflowland Indios to the Aztec ruler was paid in cacao. As mentioned above, with 100 beans one could buy a slave, with 10 beans a rabbit. Even falsification of this money occurred (as always with money, adds BRUCHER (1989) by filling empty bean shells with earth. This cacao bean money was widely used in Central America and seems to have survived as a currency in Guatemala until the last century! Cacao seeds were the basis of the financial system in Mexico when the Spaniards arrived. Scrupl (scrupulo, skrupel) is a very old standard weight which has the value of 20- 24 grains and is equivalent to about 1.296-1.198 g. It was not a very exact weight and values indicated in the bibliography therefore vary. Although the wood is not a source of commercial timber, it is suitable for purposes requiring toughness and strength rather than attractive appearance or resistance to decay. It is also used as fire wood by the natives. BRUCHER (1989) was impressed by the way Indians made fire, in spite of the humidity of the wood; matches were useless. But spinning of soft wood and dry fungus against the hard wood at high speed produced results. The fruit shells are not only used as a fodder for cattle, but also as a fertilizer or fuel.

Medical use
Leaf and seed are mainly used. Leaf An infusion of the leaves is applied as a heart tonic, a diuretic, and to stimulate blood circulation. Bark. A decoction of the bark is used as a wash for certain cutaneous diseases, such as scabies. A decoction of the fruit pericarp helps against whooping cough and dysentery and favours growth. Seed. Not only is a stimulating drink prepared from the seeds, but cocoa butter which is applied medically is also extracted. Cocoa butter is used as an excipient for ointments. Cocoa butter is also applied as an ointment to improve cicatrization. Externally it is used for raw or chapped lips, for burns on lips, for chafed skin of babies, for chaps of the nipples, abrasions and scratches of the skin, against sunburn and haemorrhoids. Internally, cocoa butter is taken against whooping cough, bronchitis and catarrh. Oleum cacao (cocoa butter) has a melting point only slightly below body temperature and is therefore suitable as a basic substance for suppositories and vaginal globuli. Toasted seeds, boiled in water reached from Manihot pressing, relieve eczemas. A refreshment for feverish people is prepared of the slime in the seed coat.

Method of use
Leaves in an infusion, fruit pericarp in decoction, oleum cacao externally and internally, as indicated above. The recipe for an ointment to promote better hair growth is recommended by LOPEZ PALACIOS (1987): 4 spoonfuls of cocoa butter, 4 spoonfuls of oil of sesame or almonds, 1 scruple of cinnamon essence, 8 drops of clove essence. With this mixture the hair is oiled.

Healing properties
Astringent (tannins), digestive, stimulating (theobromine), emollient, febrifuge, and tonic (theobromine) (for nerves and heart). Theobromine dilates the coronary arteries and alleviates angina pectoris.

Chemical contents
The seeds are very rich in fat, but also contain carbohydrates and proteins, as well as potassium, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, and the vitamins A, C, thiamine, riboflavine and niacin. The fruit is very rich in mucilage. Further contents are polyphenols, tannins, cyanogenic compounds, and the purines caffeine and theobromine. The alkaloids theobromine and caffeine have stimulant (heart and nerves), vasodilatatory as well as diuretic effects. Chocolate is constipating. Flavonoids of Theobroma leiocarpa have antineoplastic activity.

Diarrhea, dizziness
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Seed: Used as an emollient by the French Guiana Palikur in a remedy to extract splinters or prickles embedded in the skin, when mixed with stems of Chromolaena odorata and wood of Cecropia obtusa.

Leaf-bud: Infusion used with incense to treat diarrhoea in French Guiana.

Fruit: Infusion of dry pods used to decrease leprosy spots.

Seed: Infusion of baked seed-membranes is drunk for remedying anemia.
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Origin

Native to tropical America; cultivated in South India andOrissa.

Action:

Leaves—Central nervous system stimulant, local anaesthetic (due to cocaine).

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Origin

Abeokuta, Nigeria

Action:

Bark

For blood supply

1) South American medicinal plants : botany, remedial properties, and general use / I. Roth, H. Lindorf. Berlin ; New York : Springer, c2002. -- p. 492.

2) Barret, Bruce Economic Botany vol. 48, nro. 1 .-- p. 8-20 1994

3) Robertt, A., et al.. Medicinal Plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana)/Smithsonian NMNH. cited online: 17-08-2017

4) Mejía, Kember; Rengifo, Eisa /Plantas medicinales de uso popular en la Amazonía Peruana.-- Lima : Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, 2000. -- p. 286.

5) Khare, C.P./ Indian Medicinal Plants. -- Nueva Dheli: Springer, 2007 . - p 659.

6) MacDonald Idu; Erhabor,Joseph O.; Efijuemue, Harriet M. / Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research. – v. 9 no. 2, 2021. – p 8.