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Reinforcing effects of caffeine and theobromine as found in chocolate

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Abstract

Rationale

Although in a previous study we showed that caffeine and theobromine were the main psychopharmacologically active constituents in a 50-g bar of chocolate, mere activity does not guarantee a role in our liking for the food.

Objectives

Our aim was to see if liking for a drink repeatedly paired with these amounts of caffeine and theobromine would increase compared to a placebo-paired drink.

Methods

Participants (n=64) consumed a ‘novel’ drink + treatment capsule on six non-consecutive mornings using a double-blind, placebo-controlled independent-sample design. Aspects of liking and intensity of various sensory descriptors for these drinks were measured at every drink collection. Treatment capsules contained either an ecologically relevant dose combination of 19-mg caffeine and 250-mg theobromine or a placebo.

Results

Liking for the drink paired with the methylxanthine-containing capsules increased over time compared to the placebo-paired drink. This highly significant effect was confirmed by subjective, retrospective changes in liking for the drink.

Conclusions

Methylxanthines in amounts found in 50-g chocolate may well contribute to our liking for chocolate, especially to the more acquired taste for dark chocolate.

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Acknowledgements

A summary of these results was presented as a poster at the annual meeting of the British Feeding and Drinking Group in Bristol, UK, on 25–26 March 2004 (Smit and Blackburn 2004). The authors would like to thank Capsugel and FMC for donating the relevant materials for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1TN, UK

    Hendrik J. Smit & Rachel J. Blackburn

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  1. Hendrik J. Smit
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  2. Rachel J. Blackburn
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Correspondence to Hendrik J. Smit.

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Smit, H.J., Blackburn, R.J. Reinforcing effects of caffeine and theobromine as found in chocolate. Psychopharmacology 181, 101–106 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-005-2209-3

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