Industrial treatment of Cocoa in Chocolate production: Health implications

Abstract

Cocoa has a rich history of medicinal and ritual use. The medicinal use of cocoa originated among the Olmec, Maya and Aztec civilizations which bloomed in the geographical region that we now call Central America. According to the best estimates of archaeologists, the ancient Maya, are believed to have cultivated the cacao tree for the very first time around 1000 BC. The Aztecs regarded cocoa as a sacred plant, used it in a highly esteemed drink of the gods and valued cocoa beans as currency. It was Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, who brought cocoa to Europe at the beginning of the 16th century.