Chocaholics may clap hands in joy and dig into another piece of their sweet God after researchers have found that ingredients in chocolate could put a stop to persistent coughs and lead to new cough medicines.

The scientific team have discovered that theobromine, a derivative found in cocoa, has nearly triple more effectiveness in stopping persistent coughs when compared with codeine, so far considered the best cough medicine.

According to the research results published online in FASEB Journal, theobromine works by suppressing vagus nerve activity, which is responsible for causing coughing. The team also discovered that unlike standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no adverse effects on either the cardiovascular or central nervous systems.

"Persistent coughing is not necessarily harmful, but it can have major impact on quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this problem," Professor Peter Barnes, from Imperial College London and Royal Brompton Hospital, was quoted as saying.