Cocoa could be antidote to age-related diseases, says new study

Cocoa could be antidote to age-related diseases, says new study

A specially-made cocoa that retains a naturally-occurring compound called flavanols could boost brain function and could be a future answer to age-related disorders, including dementia, according to researchers.

SAN FRANCISCO: A specially-made cocoa that retains a naturally-occurring compound called flavanols could boost brain function and could be a future answer to age-related disorders, including dementia, according to researchers.

At a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Sunday, scientists, who participated in a study funded by chocolate maker Mars Inc., said their studies suggested that flavanols increased blood flow to the brain and it may hold clues to treatment of brain-related disorders. Earlier studies have indicated that consumption of cocoa, rich in flavanols, improved blood vessel function. The current research shows this could apply to the brain as well, possibly improving learning and memory functions as well besides being an antidote to diseases.

The Cocoavia line of chocolates, made by Mars, a private company, using a process that retains flavanols, has been shown in clinical trials to have benefits for the heart.

The latest research also suggests benefits for the brain.

Harold H. Schmitz, chief science officer at Mars, who spoke at the symposium, said the research is impressive in that multiple laboratories are coming to the same conclusion and the findings give new insights into how flavanol-rich cocoa could impact health in a variety of ways not previously known.

One of the studies conducted at the instance of Mars was by Ian Macdonald of Britain's University of Nottingham Medical School on healthy women to see whether flavanol-rich cocoa helped boost cognitive function during challenging mental tasks. Macdonald said the study showed that acute consumption of a particular flavanol-rich cocoa beverage provided by Mars was associated with increased blood flow to grey matter for two to three hours. "This raises the possibility that certain food components like cocoa flavanols may beneficial in increasing brain blood flow and enhancing brain function among older adults or for others in situations where they may be cognitively impaired, such as fatigue or sleep deprivation," he said.

The substance did increase blood flow to the brains of the subjects for a two to three-hour period, he added.

In a corresponding study at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Norman K. Hollenberg and his team worked with the Kuna Indians of Panama, who consumes cocoa in large quantities, especially those rich in flavanols. The research team noted that they experienced unusually low rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

The team used death certificates to compare cause-specific deaths of Kuna people living in the island, who consume flavanol-rich cocoa, and those living on mainland Panama, who do not consume the same, and found that those living on the islands had significantly lower rates of heart disease and cancer compared to those on the mainland. The relative risk of death from heart disease on the Panama mainland was 1,280 per cent higher than on the islands and death from cancer was 630 per cent higher.

Hollenberg also observed that improvements in blood vessel function following flavanol-rich cocoa consumption are paralleled by an increase in the circulating pool of nitric oxide, a critical molecule in the circulatory system that helps dilate blood vessels and keeps them pliable.

He said since this cocoa preparation is so well tolerated, it raises hope that the brain blood flow response it stimulates can result in maintenance of healthy brain function and cognition, "which is an issue that unfortunately plagues many older adults today."

Hollenberg, however, believes that, while promising, the brain benefit needs to be verified. There is need for a large clinical trial, he said.