Health effects of chocolate no medical or regulatory authority has approved any health claim. "Theobroma cacao", the cacao tree, produces seeds containing flavanols. The seeds have been used to make beverages for some 2000 years in Aztec, Olmec, and Maya civilizations in central and south America. The drinks were ascribed a wide variety of curative and stimulant properties, unsupported by experimental evidence. In the 19th century, chocolate as a solid was invented, and milk and sugar were added to create milk chocolate, high in fat and sugar. Doubtful research, sometimes funded by the chocolate industry, has at times made suggestions of possible health benefits
Ceratocystis cacaofunesta Ceratocystis cacaofunesta Ceratocystis cacaofunesta is an ascomycete fungus that causes a wilt disease in cacao trees. It has led to significant economic losses in Latin America. Once considered to be a form of "Ceratocystis fimbriata", the fungus was described as a new species in 2005. The specific epithet "cacaofunesta" means "cacao-killing". Two closely related sublineages exist within this species, one centered in western Ecuador and the other containing isolates from Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica. The disease known as "Ceratocystis wilt of cacao" (or "Mal de machete") is a serious disease of the cocoa tree ("Theobroma cacao") in Latin America.