Little-known cough-relieving benefits of chocolate

Researchers in the UK have discovered another reason to eat chocolate: it helps prevent chronic coughs.

According to the results of a study published in the journal Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, chocolate contains an active ingredient called theobromine. This active ingredient has been proven to be effective in reducing coughs and does not cause side effects such as drowsiness or “addiction” when compared to codeine - a commonly used cough suppressant.

Theobromine is a bitter alkaloid extracted from cocoa, found in chocolate, and can also be found in other plants such as tea leaves.

Coughs affect most people at some point in their lives and if left untreated can be very distressing as they have a major impact on quality of life, said lead researcher Dr Peter Barnes.

Researchers gave 10 volunteers either theobromine, codeine, or a placebo at different times. Next, the 10 volunteers were exposed to capsaicin, a substance used in many scientific studies to induce coughing.

The results showed that the dose of capsaicin required by those who used theobromine was about one-third higher than that of those who used placebo, and the group who used codeine only needed a slightly higher dose of capsaicin than the placebo to induce a cough. This suggests that theobromine is more effective than codeine in suppressing coughs.

Explaining this, scientists say that when the vagus nerve is stimulated, it causes coughing and theobromine has the effect of blocking the activity of the vagus nerve, thereby stopping the cough reflex.

Coughs that last for weeks after a viral infection are often difficult to treat, so the discovery of theobromine's effectiveness could allow researchers to develop cough treatments without unwanted side effects.

According to Healthguidance, people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have to deal with the effects of a chronic cough, so this is good news for them. Not only does it reduce coughing, but theobromine has the added advantage of not causing side effects like drowsiness, drowsiness, or constipation like codeine.

According to TNO