Chocamine is a brand of

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

extract found as an ingredient in many consumer health products, such as Nightfood, ChocoMind, ChocoEnergy, LifeMap, Chocoslim, ChocoLift, and ErgoLean AMP.ErgoLean AMP retrieved January 25, 2011
In these consumer products, Chocamine is included to provide the taste, smell and purported health benefits of

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

, without the

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers spec ...

, and

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

Chocamine, Nattrop Product reviews, Retrieved 2010-10-16
found in many confectionery products. Cocoa solids contain

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s such as

theobromine Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to s ...

and

phenethylamine Phenethylamine (PEA) is an organic compound, natural monoamine alkaloid, and trace amine, which acts as a central nervous system stimulant in humans. In the brain, phenethylamine regulates monoamine neurotransmission by binding to trace amin ...

. Chocamine contains

methylxanthine Xanthine ( or ; archaically xanthic acid; systematic name 3,7-dihydropurine-2,6-dione) is a purine base found in most human body tissues and fluids, as well as in other organisms. Several stimulants are derived from xanthine, including caffeine, ...

alkaloids (with a high concentration of theobromine), adrenergic amines,

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

s, and some dietary minerals.

History

Chocolate is reported to be the number one craved food in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Recently a lot of research has been conducted to determine any potential health benefits of chocolate. Because of its high degree of consumer appeal, chocolate-based bioactives are regarded as an area of keen interest by the health food industry.Sean Moloughney, (2010). Entrepreneur.com . Retrieved 2010-10-16
/ref> US-based RFI, a company that cites research into the pharmacologically active compounds found in chocolates, acquired Chocamine in 2002, when it merged with nutritional blends company Nat-Trop. As a chocolate-derived product, Chocamine is classified by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

Use

Chocamine has been available for use in supplements, from

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

s, bars, gums,

drink mix A drink mix is a processed-food product, designed to mix usually with water to produce a beverage resembling fruit juice or soda in flavor. Another type of drink mix is represented by products that are mixed into milk. It is traditionally made i ...

es, and confections to

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...

s and powdered drinks. The recommended usage rate is 500 mg per serving by the company.

Varieties

There are two varieties of this product: Chocamine and Chocamine Plus. The key difference is that Chocamine Plus has caffeine 40 mg per 500 mg serving. This is approximately the same amount as a 12-ounce can of soda), while "regular" Chocamine is basically "de-caffeinated".

References

{{Portal bar, Food, Drink, Society Cocoa production