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Theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine) is a compound similar in structure to caffeine and a major component of cocoa and a minor component of coffee and tea. When ingested, about 11% of caffeine is metabolized into theobromine via 1-N-demethylation, making it the second major metabolite after paraxanthine. Like caffeine, orally administered theobromine is highly bioavailable and excreted primarily as metabolites. Theobromine has a longer half-life than caffeine, around 7-8 hours.
Theobromine is marketed in many products as a weight loss aid and sometimes as a stimulant. However, there is little reason to believe that it is superior to caffeine in any way. Although theobromine has diuretic properties similar to those of caffeine, it is only a weak adenosine antagonist, and has only minor CNS stimulant effects. This is reflected in a dose discrimination study in humans, in which not all of the subjects were able to discriminate theobromine from placebo, and those that were were only able to do so at much higher doses than caffeine (in the range of 100-560 mg for theobromine compared to 1.8-178 mg for caffeine). In rats, theobromine is not as effective at reducing food intake as caffeine, but has a similar level of toxicity. Additionally, in an in vitro study, theobromine was less effective than caffeine at stimulating lipolysis in adipocytes. Theobromine does have therapeutic use in the treatment of some conditions, such as high blood pressure (because of vasodilating properties) and cardiac failure (because of diuretic properties), but the present evidence is against the use of theobromine for fat loss when compared to other options.
Theobromine is marketed in many products as a weight loss aid and sometimes as a stimulant. However, there is little reason to believe that it is superior to caffeine in any way. Although theobromine has diuretic properties similar to those of caffeine, it is only a weak adenosine antagonist, and has only minor CNS stimulant effects. This is reflected in a dose discrimination study in humans, in which not all of the subjects were able to discriminate theobromine from placebo, and those that were were only able to do so at much higher doses than caffeine (in the range of 100-560 mg for theobromine compared to 1.8-178 mg for caffeine). In rats, theobromine is not as effective at reducing food intake as caffeine, but has a similar level of toxicity. Additionally, in an in vitro study, theobromine was less effective than caffeine at stimulating lipolysis in adipocytes. Theobromine does have therapeutic use in the treatment of some conditions, such as high blood pressure (because of vasodilating properties) and cardiac failure (because of diuretic properties), but the present evidence is against the use of theobromine for fat loss when compared to other options.