Chocolate as a cure for a cough
24 November 2004
by Richard
Conan-Davies
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Chocolate it seems may better at helping your cough than regular cough syrups or mixtures according to a study led by a team at Imperial College London. The researchers found that a certain chemical in chocolate called theobromine, a substance found in cocoa is almost 30% more effective than codeine. Professor Peter Barnes of the College explained that " While persistent coughing is not necessarily harmful it can have a major impact on quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem." Basically the theobromine works by suppressing a particular nerve called the vagus nerve which is located near the base of the skull and works with organs around the throat area. Their research was published in the FASEB Journal and concluded that " theobromin e is a novel and promising treatment, which may form the basis for a new class of antitussive (anti cough) drugs. |
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