Next generation sequencing elucidates cacao badnavirus diversity and reveals the existence of more than ten viral species.

Cacao swollen shoot virus is a member of the family Caulimoviridae, genus Badnavirus and is naturally transmitted to Theobroma cacao (L.) by several mealybug species. CSSV populations in West African countries are highly variable and genetically structured into several different groups based on the diversity in the first part of ORF3 which encodes the movement protein.

Geographical Distribution of Cacao swollen shoot virus Molecular Variability in Ghana.

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) was introduced into West Africa from South America during the nineteenth century. However, cacao swollen shoot disease (CSSD) was first observed in Ghana in 1936 and, later, discovered in Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, and Sierra Leone.

Effects of the intake of natural cocoa powder on some biochemical and haematological indices in the rat.

Background: Natural cocoa and cocoa products are increasingly attracting the attention of many investigators and the general public because of their potential nutritional and medicinal properties and other claims.

Objective: This study sought to evaluate the effect the consumption of natural cocoa powder has on some biochemical and hematological indices in the rat, as a way of establishing the biochemical basis for some of the claims made for the consumption of cocoa and its products.

Methods: Male Wistar albino rats were fed natural cocoa powder in an aqueous suspension for 48 days, Biochemical and haematological indices were then determined from blood samples.