THEOBROMA 



305 



STERCULIACE^E 



Trees or shrubs with soft wood; sometimes climbing. Fruit dry, rarely fleshy 

 (Theobroma, 346); seeds globose or ovoid, with coriaceous or crustaceous testa. 

 The two plants of interest of the order are the one mentioned and Cola, 70. 



345. COLA N.F. COLA (KOLA). The dried kernel of the seed of Cola acumi- 

 nata R. Brown (Fam. Sterculiacecz), yielding by assay i per cent, of total 

 alkaloids. Occurring in irregular somewhat plano-convex pieces; cotyledons 

 from 15 to 30 mm. long and 5 to 10 mm. thick; dark brown or reddish-brown; 

 fracture short, tough; odor faintly aromatic, taste astringent and somewhat 

 aromatic. The drug contains alkaloids consisting mostly of caffeine and theo- 

 bromine, about 40 per cent, of starch, a little volatile oil, fat, and tannin. 

 The kolanin of Knebel is simply a kolatannate of caffeine. Kolatannic acid 



FIG. 176. Cola (Kola Nut). Showing longitudinal section of fruit X Ji; cross-section of red 

 seed X W; longitudinal section of red seed showing embryo X J-3; cross-section of red seed X H; 

 longitudinal section of white seed. (After Kohler.) 



differs from caffeotannic acid in being free from sugar. Tonic, stimulant, 

 and nervine; used as a beverage by the natives of Africa as is coca by the 

 natives of South America. Dose: 10 to 30 gr. (0.6 to 2 Gm.). 



"Bissey nuts" are the seed of the Cola naturalized and cultivated in the West 

 Indies. It should be said with regard to the many preparations of Cola that they 

 seem to lack a certain degree of permanence: the fluidextract of the Cola, for ex- 

 ample, is an unsatisfactory preparation, because of the immense precipitation 

 which goes on for a long time after the preparation is made. 



346. THEOBROMA. CACAO. CHOCOLATE NUT. The seed of Theobro'ma 

 caca'o Linne. Habitat: Mexico; cultivated in the West Indies. About the 

 size of an almond, flattened, invested with a thin, longitudinally wrinkled 

 testa, varying from reddish to grayish-brown in color; somewhat ovate in 

 shape, the hilum being situated on the broader end. The cotyledons are 

 brown, oily, somewhat ridged. Odor agreeable when bruised; taste bitterish, 

 oily. Contains 45 to 53 per cent, of fixed oil (Cacao Butter), and 1.5 per cent, 

 of theobromine, an alkaloid similar to caffeine. Chocolate is made by roast- 

 ing the seed, removing the testa, then powdering the kernels, forming the 

 powder into cakes with water, and flavoring with vanilla or other substances. 



20 



