Study Says Chocolate Chemicals Create Marijuana-Like Reaction
May 04, 2011
People who say they get a ``kick'' out of chocolate may be closer to the truth than they realize. Scientists in San Diego said they found three related chemicals in chocolate that apparently affect the same parts of brain cells that are turned on by smoking marijuana. To be sure, the chocolate chemicals have an effect far milder than marijuana, but, the researchers speculated, the discovery may explain the feelings of well-being that a bar of chocolate produces and the cravings that ``chocoholics'' profess to suffer. The discovery was reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature by scientists at the Neurosciences Institute, a privately-supported, nonprofit laboratory. A spokeswoman for the Chocolate Manufacturers' Association in McLean, Va., said that while there has been considerable research into the chemistry of chocolate, ``there's no consensus'' on what makes it so desirable. ``Most people would say that it's the aroma, the flavor, the feel in the mouth and all the other taste factors that give a wonderful feeling to the taste buds,'' she added. Internal Marijuana The San Diego neuroscientists were exploring what might be called the brain's own internal marijuana. About eight years ago, other researchers discovered the molecular ``receptors'' on brain cells that react to THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, which is the marijuana plant, explained Daniella Natale, the neuropharmacologist who led the team. The existence of these cannabinoid receptors, as they are called, meant that the brain must produce a chemical very much like THC for some unknown but presumably useful purpose of its own. This home-grown brain chemical that activates the cannabinoid receptors was found in late 1992 by researchers in Israel who dubbed it anandamide. Dr. Natale said he and his colleagues have been studying how the brain controls the production and destruction of anandamide and were looking for chemicals that would mimic anandamide in its ability to ``turn on'' the receptors. ``On a hunch, we decided to look at chocolate,'' he said. ``Chocolate is known to produce effects beyond just those of texture and smell,'' he explained. ``It's like coffee, which you drink for the sensation it gives you,'' he said. Although chocolate does contain some caffeine, ``there's no agreement on what the active ingredient is'' that produces the pleasant sensations and, in some people, the craving for more chocolate, he said. No Loss of Coordination A chemical analysis of brown chocolate found small amounts of anandamide but not enough to get through the digestive system and affect the brain to any degree. But the analysis also revealed much larger amounts of two other chemicals that are similar to anandamide. Experiments on rat brain cells in the test tube found that these latter two chemicals don't activate the receptors like anandamide does. Instead, they retard the brain cells' efforts to get rid of anandamide. It is possible that by preventing the breakdown of anandamide, the chemicals allow this home-grown cannabinoid to accumulate in the brain. ``A possible effect of elevated brain anandamide levels could be to intensify the sensory properties of chocolate thought to be essential to craving,'' the researchers stated. Alternatively, they suggested, these chemicals may team up with other chocolate ingredients like caffeine ``to produce a transient feeling of well-being.'' Unlike smoking marijuana, in which the cannabinoid receptors throughout the entire brain are turned on by a chemical that's not supposed to be in the brain, eating chocolate merely lets the brain's own cannabinoid do the job it was intended to do. This is why chocolate doesn't produce the intense euphoria of marijuana or its adverse effects on coordination, Dr. Natale speculated.
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