Theobromine Theobromine Theobromine, formerly known as xantheose, is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant, with the chemical formula CHNO. It is found in chocolate, as well as in a number of other foods, including the leaves of the tea plant, and the kola nut. It is classified as a xanthine alkaloid, others of which include theophylline and caffeine. The compounds differ in that caffeine has an extra methyl group (see under Pharmacology section). Despite its name, the compound contains no bromine—"theobromine" is derived from "Theobroma", the name of the genus of the cacao tree (which itself is made up of
Theobroma cacao that surrounds the beans, which is eaten as a snack and fermented into a mildly alcoholic beverage. Using the DNA sequences and comparing them with data derived from climate models and the known conditions suitable for cacao, one study refined the view of domestication, linking the area of greatest cacao genetic diversity to a bean-shaped area that encompasses Ecuador, the border between Brazil and Peru and the southern part of the Colombian-Brazilian border. Climate models indicate that at the peak of the last ice age 21,000 years ago, when habitat suitable for cacao was at its most reduced, this area