Preserving Chocolate for Future Valentine's Days; Importance of Sustainable Cocoa Crop is Focus of Symposium at the National Academies.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers/Environment Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2004

What would Valentine's Day be without chocolate? Fortunately for the world, we won't have to find out. An international team of scientists from the public and private sectors is making sure that cocoa supplies and the cacao plant from which chocolate is derived will be plentiful for years to come. More importantly, their goal is a heartfelt one: to accomplish this while helping preserve rainforests where cocoa grows and where the farmers who depend on cocoa exports earn their livelihood. Cocoa as a model crop to enhance social, economic, environmental and health aspects in countries that grow and consume it will be among the topics discussed at the "Theobroma Cacao: Ancient Crop, Medicinal Plant, Surprising Future" Symposium.

Presentations will highlight advances in genetic mapping, natural biocontrol, plant breeding and cardiovascular health. Panelists will review the important role cocoa plays in rural economies and ecological development. While farmers have grown cocoa in tropical rainforests for thousands of years, the science of the crop is just starting to come of age. Though it is now well known that naturally-found phytochemicals in some chocolates can contribute to human cardiovascular health, the plant itself, Theobroma cacao, is plagued by diseases that damage more than one-third of the crop each year.

"Although cacao has a history dating back 2,000 years, the full extent of its contributions to the global economy, its vital role to its surrounding environment, the beneficial social impact on its farmers and the potential for human health are only now being discovered," said M.R.C. Greenwood, Ph.D., Chancellor, University of California, Santa Cruz, and symposium chair. "This is a unique and prestigious gathering of scientific experts which should be used as a model for how agriculture research can provide solutions to environmental, social, economic and human health concerns."

The Symposium represents the commitment of public and private organizations that have come together to put this vulnerable plant on the road to recovery and is the result of an unprecedented public/private partnership, which includes an impressive international team consisting of the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS); United States Agency for International Development (USAID); World Bank; French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD); International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA); University of California at Davis; Harvard School of Medicine/Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Mars, Incorporated.

"Through this unique public/private partnership, we have made incredible advances in cacao research and economic development for farmers in tropical regions that would not have been possible without the willingness of industry, academia, government and international organizations to come together for the greater good," said Carole L. Brookins, Executive Director for the USA, World Bank.

Brookins points to the important role the private sector plays as a major supporter of much of the cacao research in genome mapping and breeding, and biocontrol, and their willingness to waive valuable intellectual property rights to the outcome of the group's initiatives, enabling any company to use the study results without paying patent fees.

"At Mars, Incorporated, we've committed scientific expertise and financial resources to develop sustainable solutions to waning cacao productivity, to help improve the economic well-being of cacao growing regions and their farmers," said John B. Lunde, Director of International Environmental Programs, Mars, Incorporated. "Through this work, secondary, non-cacao environmental benefits such as providing habitat to rainforest plants and animals can also be realized in cocoa-reforested rainforest lands."

Research in the realm of cacao pests and diseases takes two major forms - breeding stronger trees and minimizing pests and disease - and the partnership between Mars, Incorporated and the USDA-ARS has been working industriously on both fronts.

Genome research and classification system helps strengthen resistance to killer fungi

Symposium speaker Raymond Schnell, Ph.D., Supervisory Research Geneticist, USDA has announced the identification of gene markers, called quantitative trait loci (QTLs), for witches' broom (Crinipellis perniciosa) resistance. Witches' broom is among the top three diseases which devastate cacao crops and was the pathogen responsible for the decimation of the cacao crops in Brazil, once a lead exporter of cacao and now a cacao importer. The identification of these markers for witches' broom signifies the first major step in identifying the gene(s) responsible for the ability to withstand this pathogen and researchers expect to discover markers for other major cacao diseases as well.

Beneficial organisms that fight cacao pathogens reduce need for harsh pesticides

The other major area of focus involves minimizing pests and the spread of disease through the natural means of biocontrol. Many conventional pesticides do not work in rainforest environments, as the rainfall washes away the pesticides, rendering them ineffective while creating runoff in the soil. Researchers are investigating ways to minimize disease by identifying symbiotic organisms that inhabit the cocoa plant, while reducing the need for harsh chemical pesticides.

Symposium speaker Edward Allen Herre, Ph.D., Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute released follow-up results to his newly published data regarding various forms of fungi called endophytes that live between the cells of the cacao tree leaves where they block specific pathogens like Phytophthora, which causes black pot rot - the most widely spread pathogen which causes the most economic damage to cacao. His group's research has found that the cocoa plant does not recognize these beneficial fungi as threats and supports diverse communities of endophytes. This form of biocontrol will provide an economical and environmentally friendly solution to the diseases that cause some farmers to face farm failure due to disease outbreaks.

"Our joint research efforts are moving us closer to providing a more reliable crop with higher yields of better quality beans without using high levels of costly and potentially environmentally unsound pesticides," said Dr. Schnell. "The outcome of our research will not only benefit the chocolate industry, but will benefit farmers who depend on cacao harvests by providing a more stable income, the reforestation of rainforest, and the economies of countries that depend on cacao export."

Educational initiatives endow cacao farmers with knowledge to reap much-needed financial benefits for their families and communities

Critical to cacao's success is the transfer of new knowledge and key insights to cacao farmers around the world. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is doing that through a knowledge transfer program executed by people like symposium panelist Sonii David, Ph.D., Technology Transfer Officer, IITA. Dr. David is responsible for "educating the educators" who teach farmers on the forefront of cacao production. According to David, as farmers are educated, the knowledge attained through laboratory research is put into practice and helps farmers become more self-sufficient as they gain a better understanding of the most effective ways to grow cacao.

Through IITA's efforts they are taught about the benefits to diversifying the crops they grow so they will no longer be dependent upon a single crop or yield and can expect less fluctuation in their total yield and income, as well as sustainable practices that ensure the health of the rainforest environment around them. The long-term results of the knowledge exchange program are designed to safeguard the crops of cacao exporting countries, protecting the economies of these developing nations.

Further economic benefits via biomedical research

International researchers also presented new developments in research investigating the potential health benefits of cocoa flavanols - naturally occurring phytochemicals found in the seeds of cacao pods. With the growing interest in foods that offer benefits beyond basic nutrition, advancement in the area of cocoa flavanol research as they relate to cardiovascular health may result in improving the value of this commodity based on its potential contribution to human health.

The latest research findings in the area of cocoa flavanols and cardiovascular health lay in the discovery that consumption of high levels of cocoa flavanols signal the inner lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium, to produce nitric oxide. Nitric oxide, a compound critical to healthy blood flow, signals the blood vessels to dilate. Symptoms of circulatory disease often result in endothelial dysfunction, meaning blood vessels fails to properly dilate for adequate blood flow. Future research will determine if these responses elicited by cocoa flavanols may have further medicinal implications for a variety of chronic diseases, further enhancing the value of cacao.

The meeting of experts at The National Academies, sponsored by United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service; World Bank; National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center; The Smithsonian Institute; United States Agency for International Development; University of California, Davis; University of California, Santa Cruz; and Mars, Incorporated, continues a collaboration that began in 1998 when a similar group came together in Panama under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute to combat the devastation of world's cocoa supply.

Looking Toward the Future

"The world-class cocoa science reported today at The National Academies is a good example of the role public-private partnerships can play in working to assure that the advancements in agricultural and biomedical science produce genuine benefits within society, particularly in developing economies around the world," said Peter H. Raven, President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

While the work of all organizations involved in the various research initiatives is still in its early stages, the long-term goal is to determine how to create a sustainable system for cacao that is beneficial to all. Priorities and future objectives include genome mapping, disease research, and modification of farming practices, education of farming populations and establishing sustainable practices to ensure a secure, varied and long-term cacao supply.