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Theobromine

Stimulantoral · inferred

Cocoa methylxanthine and human caffeine metabolite with weaker central stimulant effects than caffeine. Human studies at nutritionally relevant doses have not shown consistent improvements in mood or vigilance. Absorption is near complete and the parent half-life is commonly about 7-10 hours. Higher supplemental doses can increase heart rate and worsen subjective mood.

Projected serum levels — 250 mg, once daily

Theobromine
Theobromine modeled serum levels, 250 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 1 days. 0 50 100 150 200 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 1

Maintenance schedule: 250 mg once daily (oral).

Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 198 mg, trough ≈ 30.5 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 250 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Stimulant
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
9.3 h
Common dose
250 mg
Suggested maximum
1k mg/day
Reference dose range
100–1k mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily

Research behind this entry

  1. Theobromine kinetics and metabolic disposition Tarka SM Jr, Arnaud MJ, Dvorchik BH, Vesell ES · Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 1983 DOI

    Six healthy nonsmoking men received radiolabeled theobromine at 10 mg/kg after 14 days without methylxanthines. Theobromine predominated in plasma, oral bioavailability averaged 96%, individual half-lives ranged from…

  2. Comparative pharmacokinetics of caffeine and its primary demethylated metabolites paraxanthine, theobromine and theophylline in man Lelo A, Birkett DJ, Robson RA, Miners JO · British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1986 DOI

    Six healthy men received each methylxanthine orally on separate occasions. Theobromine half-life was 7.2 hours, total clearance was 1.20 mL/min/kg, free fraction was 0.86, and steady-state distribution volume was within…

  3. Effects of theobromine and caffeine on mood and vigilance Judelson DA, Preston AG, Miller DL, Muñoz CX, Kellogg MD, Lieberman HR · Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2013 DOI

    In 24 men completing six double-blind trials, 100, 200, and 400 mg theobromine produced dose-dependent salivary exposure but no consistent improvement in mood or a two-hour vigilance task. The 100 mg caffeine control…

  4. Psychopharmacology of theobromine in healthy volunteers Baggott MJ et al. · Psychopharmacology, 2013 DOI

    In a placebo-controlled within-subject study of 80 healthy adults, 250 mg had limited subjective effects, while 500 and 1000 mg produced more negative mood effects and heart rate increased with dose. The authors…

5 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.