Death by Chocolate: Yes! Chocolate can kill. But how much would kill you?

 Choco Yum Yum! Mathspig lervs chocolate. But did you know chocolate can kill you?

Chocolate contains a chemical called Theobromine. This alkaloid ( other alkaloids include cocaine, nicotine, caffeine, and strychnine) can kill humans. More info Wired Magazine.

How much chocolate is too much?

Firstly, the darker the chocolate the more Theobromine it contains.

According to About Chemistry based on the highest possible toxicity:

* Vetmedicine: Cooking chocolate contains 8-10 times the Theobromine in Milk Chocolate.

According to Wired large doses of theobromine may cause “nausea and anorexia ….. sweating, trembling and severe headache.”

The Royal Society of Chemistry notes that chocolate does not contain caffeine, but theobromine induces similar symptoms.

LD50 for the lethal dose for 50% of the population for Theobromine is:

1000 mg/kg 0r 1gm/kg of body weight in humans

Death by Chocolate Calculations:

1. FORMULA

2. GRAPH

3. Percentage