74 COCOA : ALL Ar.OUT IT. 



we have. The starch, gum and sugar present, hke the Cocoa- 

 butter, belong to non-azotised principles ; they form about 13 

 per cent, of the whole. The alk;iloid of Cocoa, theobromine, is 

 very similar in its physiological effects to its analogues, theme and 

 codeine, from which it differs very slightly in chemical composition. 



ESSENTIAL ALKALOID PRINCIPLES. 



* Guarana. " An astringent species of Chocolate prepared from the fruit of the Paullinia Sorbilis." 

 + Mat^. " Mat^- or Paraguay tea, obtained from the Ilex Paraguayensis." — Miller's Chemistry. 



In regard to these alkaloids it is interesting to note that 

 throughout the world the instinct of man has led him to seek 

 some substance which contains one of these principles, which owe 

 their value to the specific influence they exert on the nervous 

 system, stimulating it and checking waste of tissue. Theobromine, 

 when extracted, presents the form of a white crystalline powder, 

 and differing from caffeine and thcine, which have a very beautiful 

 crystalline appearance. 



Nearly nine-tenths of the Cocoa bean is composed of matter 

 that is assimilated by the digestive organs ; while with Tea and 

 Coffee more than one-half is thrown away as waste product. 

 The proportions of woody fibre are as follows : — 



Tea ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 per cent. Woody Fibre. 



Cofifee 35 „ „ 



Cocoa... ... ... ... ... ... 4 ,, „ 



