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Anti-oxidanten in chocolade versterken werking bloedvaten?*
Hier een wetenschappelijk onderzoek waarvan de conclusie wat gekleurd kan zijn.Het onderzoek is grotendeels betaald door de chocolade-industrie met als inzet een nieuw product van Mars. Blijf dus matig met het eten van chocolade.
Flavonoid-Rich Dark Chocolate
Improves Endothelial Function and Increases Plasma Epicatechin Concentrations in
Healthy Adults
Mary B. Engler, PhD,
Marguerite M. Engler, PhD, Chung Y. Chen, PhD, Mary J. Malloy, MD, Amanda
Browne, BS, Elisa Y. Chiu, BS, MS, Ho-Kyung Kwak, PhD, Paul Milbury, MS, Steven
M. Paul, PhD, Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, FACN and Michele L. Mietus-Snyder, MD
Laboratory of Cardiovascular
Physiology, Department of Physiological Nursing (M.B.E., M.M.E., A.B., E.Y.C.,
M.L.M.-S.), Boston, Massachusetts
Office of Research (S.M.P.), Boston, Massachusetts
School of Nursing, Cardiovascular Research Institute (M.J.M.), Boston,
Massachusetts
School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California,
Antioxidant Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center
on Aging, Tufts University (C.Y.C., H.-K.K., P.M., J.B.), Boston, Massachusetts
Address reprint requests to:
Dr. Mary B. Engler, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, Suite
N631, San Francisco, California 94143-0610. E-mail: mary.engler@nursing.ucsf.edu
Background: Dark chocolate derived from the plant (Theobroma
cacao) is a rich source of flavonoids. Cardioprotective effects including
antioxidant properties, inhibition of platelet activity, and
activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase have been ascribed to
the cocoa flavonoids.
Objective: To investigate the effects of flavonoid-rich dark
chocolate on endothelial function, measures of oxidative stress, blood
lipids, and blood pressure in healthy adult subjects.
Design: The study was a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled design conducted over a 2 week period in 21
healthy adult subjects. Subjects were randomly assigned to daily
intake of high-flavonoid (213 mg procyanidins, 46 mg epicatechin) or
low-flavonoid dark chocolate bars (46 g, 1.6 oz).
Results: High-flavonoid chocolate consumption improved
endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial
artery (mean change = 1.3 ± 0.7%) as compared to low-flavonoid
chocolate consumption (mean change = –0.96 ± 0.5%) (p =
0.024). No significant differences were noted in the resistance to
LDL oxidation, total antioxidant capacity, 8-isoprostanes, blood
pressure, lipid parameters, body weight or body mass index (BMI) between
the two groups. Plasma epicatechin concentrations were markedly
increased at 2 weeks in the high-flavonoid group (204.4 ± 18.5
nmol/L, p
0.001) but not in the low-flavonoid group
(17.5 ± 9 nmol/L, p = 0.99).
Conclusion: Flavonoid-rich dark chocolate improves endothelial function and is associated with an increase in plasma epicatechin concentrations in healthy adults. No changes in oxidative stress measures, lipid profiles, blood pressure, body weight or BMI were seen (juni 2004)