Smit Hendrik Jan
Functional Food Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK.
Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2011(200):201-34. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-13443-2_7.
The effects of theobromine in man are underresearched, possibly owing to the assumption that it is behaviourally inert. Toxicology research in animals may appear to provide alarming results, but these cannot be extrapolated to humans for a number of reasons. Domestic animals and animals used for racing competitions need to be guarded from chocolate and cocoa-containing foods, including foods containing cocoa husks. Research ought to include caffeine as a comparative agent, and underlying mechanisms need to be further explored. Of all constituents proposed to play a role in our liking for chocolate, caffeine is the most convincing, though a role for theobromine cannot be ruled out. Most other substances are unlikely to exude a psychopharmacological effect owing to extremely low concentrations or the inability to reach the blood-brain barrier, whilst chocolate craving and addiction need to be explained by means of a culturally determined ambivalence towards chocolate.
可可碱对人类的影响研究不足，这可能是由于人们认为它在行为上没有活性。动物毒理学研究可能会得出令人担忧的结果，但由于多种原因，这些结果不能外推到人类身上。家畜和用于赛车比赛的动物需要防止接触巧克力和含可可的食物，包括含有可可壳的食物。研究应将咖啡因作为对照剂，并且需要进一步探索其潜在机制。在所有被认为与我们对巧克力的喜爱有关的成分中，咖啡因是最有说服力的，不过可可碱的作用也不能排除。由于大多数其他物质浓度极低或无法穿过血脑屏障，不太可能产生精神药理学效应，而对巧克力的渴望和成瘾需要通过文化上对巧克力的矛盾态度来解释。
