Habitat: original of Mexico and Central America. Its culture has extended to tropical regions of Africa and Asia.
Description: tree of the family of the Esterculiáceas, that reaches of 6 to 10 ms of height, with great perennial leaves and yellow or reddish flowers. The fruit is a great berry (mazorca), ovoidea, of about 25 cm in length by 15 cm wide, of brown or reddish color when he is mature. In its interior is the pulp where are the seeds, in number of 20 or 30.
Used parts: the seeds and the rind of the fruit.
Properties and indications: the seeds of the cacao contain a 40% - 50% of lipids (greasy), a 12%-14% of proteins, mineral teobromina (1%), salts, and small amounts of vitamins To, B1 and B2. The dust cacao is obtained by crushing of the dried seeds of cacao.
The teobromina of the cacao is an alkaloid whose chemical formula (S-7-dimetilxantina), as well as their effects, are similar to those of caffein. Difference, nevertheless, in which the teobromina is diurética and less exciting than caffein. The diurético effect of the teobromina is accompanied by an antiinflammatory action on the kidney, reason why it recommends in cases of nefrosis and nefritis.
Altogether, the cacao is tonificante and slightly stimulating, although in great doses, or in sensible people, it can produce insomnia and tachycardia.
Some varieties of cacao also contain caffein, in amount that can arrive at the 50 mg by each cup of chocolate of 100 mililiter (the coffee cup contains from 100 to 150 mg).
As medicinal preparation is used the decocción of cacao seeds. This is very preferable to the chocolate, because it is exempts of his disadvantages (fat and sugar addition). Unfortunately, the seeds of single cacao are available in the tropical countries in which the cacao is cultivated.
The cacao butter is extracted by pressure of the toasted seeds. It is a powerful healing emollient and, that enters the composition of numerous prepared phamacists and cosmetics.
Its application is specially useful in the following cases:
Cracks of the lips produced by the dryness or the cold.
Cracks of the nipple of the nursing mothers.
Burns, eruptions and irritations of the skin.
In order to make leave the hair.
Hemorroides and vaginitis (irritation, irritation or prurito in the vagina).
The rind of the cacao is used in Mexico against the cough, in decocción form. Also he is stimulating.
Use: decocción of seeds that is prepared with 10 or 12 seeds (also calls almonds) by liter of water, taking 3 daily cups. Decocción of rind, that is prepared with 50 g by liter of water; 3 cups to the day are taken.
Externally, the cacao butter is applied directly as if outside pomada, on the zone of skin affected, up to 6 or 8 daily times. In supositorios and ova of cacao butter that are prepared pharmaceutically and they are used in case of hemorroides or vaginitis.
Precautions: the use of the cacao internally, and specially of the chocolate, advises against in the following cases: heavy allergy to the cacao, digestions by biliary litiasis or dispepsia (by its fat content), constipation (it aggravates it), youthful acne, insomnia (specially in the children) and tachycardia.
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