paraxanthine
PAR-uh-zan-theen
Definition
A chemical compound (a dimethylxanthine) that is a byproduct of caffeine metabolism and is used as a biomarker to help identify the presence of cacao residues.
Etymology
The name is derived from a combination of the Greek 'para-' (meaning beside or near) and 'xanthine' (from the Greek 'xanthos', meaning yellow), referring to the yellow color of the original xanthine compound when treated with nitric acid.
In the news
The article mentions paraxanthine as one of four specific chemical compounds tested in pottery sherds to determine if they once contained cacao, helping researchers distinguish potential chocolate residues from other substances.
Ancient cacao DNA has been recovered from two pottery fragments dug out of eleventh and twelfth century feasting pits at Etowah in Georgia, reported as the first clear evidence that cacao consumption was part of the Mississippian world
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com