Abstract:
Theobroma cacao—The Food of the Gods, provides the raw material for the multibillion dollar
chocolate industry and is also the main source of income for about 6 million smallholders around
the world. Additionally, cocoa beans have a number of other nonfood uses in the
pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Specifically, the potential health benefits of cocoa have
received increasing attention as it is rich in polyphenols, particularly flavonoids. At present, the
demand for cocoa and cocoa-based products in Asia is growing particularly rapidly and chocolate
manufacturers are increasing investment in this region. However, in many Asian countries, cocoa
production is hampered due to many reasons including technological, political and socioeconomic issues. This review provides an overview of the present status of global cocoa
production and recent advances in biotechnological applications for cacao improvement, with
special emphasis on genetics/genomics, in vitro embryogenesis and genetic transformation. In
addition, in order to obtain an insight into the latest innovations in the commercial sector, a
survey was conducted on granted patents relating to T. cacao biotechnology.
