Chocamine

Chocamine is a brand of cocoa extract found as an ingredient in many consumer health products, such as NightFood, ChocoMind, ChocoEnergy, LifeMap, Chocoslim, ChocoLift, and ErgoLean AMP. In these consumer products, Chocamine is included to provide the taste, smell and health benefits of chocolate, without the sugar, fat, and dairy found in many confectionery products. Cocoa solids contain alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine which may have physiological effects on the body. Chocamine contains methylxanthine alkaloids (with a high concentration of theobromine), adrenergic amines, amino acids and some other dietary minerals.

History

Chocolate is reported to be the number one craved food in North America. 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.

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 as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

Composition

Chocamine is basically a cocoa extract which contains a number of chemical ingredients. Several basic components include:

• Methylxanthine alkaloids like theobromine, theophylline and caffeine (with a high concentration of theobromine in relationship to theophylline and caffeine).
• Others include biogenic amines like phenethylamine, tyramine, and according to one source, synephrine.
• Several forms of important amino acids like phenylalanine, tryptophan, and tyrosine
• Dietary minerals with a high content of magnesium
• Numerous beneficial antioxidants
• Cannabinoid compounds such as oleoylethanolamide

Chocamine is standardized for several ingredients such as methylxanthine alkaloids, adrenergic amines, minerals and amino acids.

Use

Chocamine has been available for use in supplements, from beverages, bars, gums, drink mixes, and confections to dietary supplements 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".

Clinical study

RFI recently completed a clinical trial to study the effect of Chocamine on brain cortical integration of visual stimuli in volunteers.

For this study, 30 subjects received 1000 mg of Chocamine, 1000 mg of Chocamine Plus (with caffeine) or placebo, and then performed the Audio-Visual Multi-Processing Test (AVMT), a standard test in neuropsychology. The AVMT consists of a series of objective tasks, where attention span, working memory, reaction time, non-verbal problem solving and other aspects of mental functioning were assessed using a prominent neurocognitive research tool called the IMPACT Cognitive Assessment Test.

Researchers reported positive trends in a variety of cognitive functions among participants who took Chocamine products, including a 49% improvement on tests evaluating short-term memory and visual-motor response speed for the Chocamine Plus group and a 39% increase in the Chocamine group.

Side effects

Chocamine Plus contains moderate levels of caffeine, which may lead to water being drawn off the body, as caffeine is a stimulant and diuretic. Caffeine is also known to interfere with sleep, especially when ingested during the afternoon or evening hours.