The term "theobromine", incidentally, comes from Greek, "drink of the Gods", and was applied to chocholate in drinkable form when it was first brought to Europe.
Ronn Blankenship wrote: > At 02:48 PM 11/16/02, Marc A. Schindler wrote: > >Caffeine's chemical name is trimethylxanthine. > > 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, to be precise. Or > 1,3,7,-trimethyl 2,6-dioxopurine, or > 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione > > >Here's a link to a site that lists the other ingredients: > >http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec2001/1007419335.Ch.r.html > >I would say, offhand, that theobromine > > 3,7-dimethylxanthine. Or > 3,7,-dimethyl 2,6-dioxopurine, or > 3,7-dihydro-3,7-dimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione > > >is the only other "active" ingredient; > > As caffeine is the primary methylxanthine compound in coffee, theobromine > is the primary member of the family in chocolate. The third member of the > family is theophylline > > 1,3-dimethylxanthine, or > 1,3,-dimethyl 2,6-dioxopurine, or > 3,7-dihydro-1,3-dimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione > > which is more common in tea than in coffee or chocolate, and is used in the > treatment of asthma (prescription brand name "Theo-dur", etc.). > > (FWIW, I've been unable to find out why there is apparently no such > compound as 1,7-trimethylxanthine. Not only is no such compound listed in > the Merck Index or other standard references, none of the chemists or > biologists I work with at school had an answer, either.) > > >most of the other things get oxidized during roasting, and some of them > >are responsible > >for the raw coffee bean's bitter taste. > > As alkaloids, all members of the methylxanthine family have a bitter > taste. I know that "No-Doz" brand caffeine pills have some sort of sweet > flavoring added to hide the bitter taste, though I don't know it that's > true of other brands. I imagine that if you held one in your mouth for any > length of time, though, the bitter taste would overwhelm the flavoring, as > happens with other types of pills . . . > > --Ronn! :) > > I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon. > I never dreamed that I would see the last. > --Dr. Jerry Pournelle > > ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// > /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland �Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on� � Winston Churchill Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author�s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
