Cocoa and Heart Health: A Historical Review of the Science

Pucciarelli, Deanna L.

doi:10.3390/nu5103854

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…The Kuna are one of few remaining tribes who are protected from vascular ailments, such as arterial hypertension (Corti et al, 2009 ). It has been suggested that this is due to the prominent role cocoa plays in the Kuna diet (Galleano et al, 2009 ; Hollenberg et al, 2009 ), where they consume the equivalent of five cups of liquid cocoa, or approximately 900 mg cocoa flavanols, per day (Pucciarelli, 2013 ). Research demonstrated that when members of the Kuna relocated to Panama, changing their culture and diet (in particular a reduced dietary intake of flavanol-rich cocoa), significant increases in blood pressure were subsequently observed (Galleano et al, 2009 ; Fraga et al, 2011 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The acute and sub-chronic effects of cocoa flavanols on mood, cognitive and cardiovascular health in young healthy adults: a randomized, controlled trial

et al. 2015

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Cocoa supplementation has been associated with benefits to cardiovascular health. However, cocoa's effects on cognition are less clear. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial (n = 40, age M = 24.13 years, SD = 4.47 years) was conducted to investigate the effects of both acute (same-day) and sub-chronic (daily for four-weeks) 250 mg cocoa supplementation on mood and mental fatigue, cognitive performance and cardiovascular functioning in young, healthy adults. Assessment involved repeated 10-min cycles of the Cognitive Demand Battery (CDB) encompassing two serial subtraction tasks (Serial Threes and Sevens), a Rapid Visual Information Processing task, and a mental fatigue scale over the course of half an hour. The Swinburne University Computerized Cognitive Assessment Battery (SUCCAB) was also completed to evaluate cognition. Cardiovascular function included measuring both peripheral and central blood pressure and cerebral blood flow. At the acute time point, consumption of cocoa significantly improved self-reported mental fatigue and performance on the Serial Sevens task in cycle one of the CDB. No other significant effects were found. This trial was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (Trial ID: ACTRN12613000626763). Accessible via http://www.anzctr.org.au/TrialSearch.aspx?searchTxt=ACTRN12613000626763&ddlSearch=Registered.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The acute and sub-chronic effects of cocoa flavanols on mood, cognitive and cardiovascular health in young healthy adults: a randomized, controlled trial

et al. 2015

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“…Particularly various phytoextracts and their active principles have shown to provide effective cardioprotection against various challenges [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. Cocoa consumption has been previously linked to cardiac health and various mechanisms have been proposed for the cardioprotective effects of cocoa [51]. TMP is one of the major bioactive component of cocoa liquors and in Chinese black vinegar [52,53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tetramethylpyrazine reverses high-glucose induced hypoxic effects by negatively regulating HIF-1α induced BNIP3 expression to ameliorate H9c2 cardiomyoblast apoptosis

et al. 2020

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Background: Diabetic patients are highly vulnerable to hypoxic injury, which is associated with hypoxia induced BNIP3 expression that subsequently activate apoptosis. Our previous research show that Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), a food flavoring agent, represses the hypoxia induced BNIP3 expression attenuate myocardial apoptosis. In this study, we evaluate the effect of TMP to provide protection against hypoxia aggravated high-glucose associated cellular apoptosis. Methods: The cytoprotective effect of TMP against high glucose induced cellular damages was determined on embryo derived H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells that were subjected to 5% hypoxia for 24 h and subjected to different duration of 33 mM high glucose challenge. Further, the involvement of HIF-1α and BNIP3 in cellular damage and the mechanism of protection of TMP were determined by overexpression and silencing HIF-1α and BNIP3 protein expression. Results: The results show that hypoxic effects on cell viability aggravates with high glucose challenge and this augmentative effect is mediated through BNIP3 in H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells. However, TMP administration effectively reversed the augmented HIF-1α levels and BNIP3 elevation. TMP improved the survival of H9c2 cells and effectively suppressed apoptosis in H9c2 cells. Further comparison on the effects of TMP on H9c2 cells challenged with high glucose and those challenged with hypoxia show that TMP precisely regulated the hypoxic intensified apoptotic effects in high-glucose condition. Conclusion: The results clearly show that flavoring agent-TMP attenuates cytotoxicity amplified by hypoxia challenge in high glucose condition by destabilizing HIF-1α.

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“…This evergreen tropical crop has been cultivated in more than 50 countries in the world due to its benefit to the chocolate, confectionery and cosmetic industries 2 . Likewise, the medicinal benefits of cocoa were noted recently 3 . In addition, cocoa is often grown in agroforestry-type ecosystems alongside other fruit and commodity crops so the plantation of this fruit tree has provided sustainable economic and environmental benefits in many countries 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of Heat Shock Protein 70 Family in Theobroma cacao

La¹

2022

Pakistan J. of Biological Sciences

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Background and Objective: In plants, the 70 kDa heat shock proteins (Hsp70-s) play important roles during growth and development and in response to stresses. This study aimed to provide comprehensive information on the Hsp70 family in cocoa (Theobroma cacao), one of the most important tropical perennial cash crops worldwide. Materials and Methods: A basic local alignment search tool (TBLASTN) against the cocoa genome was performed using Arabidopsis Hsp70-s as queries to detect TcHsp70-s. Sequence analyses were carried out by various bioinformatics tools. Results: A total of 18 members of the Hsp70 family has been detected and characterized in the cocoa genome. All general properties, such as physic-chemical parameters, gene structure, phylogenetic tree and sub-cellular localization, were determined using a variety of bioinformatics tools. The expression patterns of the TcHsp70 genes in different stages of the zygotic and somatic embryos were investigated. In addition, expression profiles of the TcHsp70 genes under Phytophthora megakarya inoculation were analyzed. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed the features and expression analyses of Hsp70 genes in cocoa. These findings could provide a strong foundation for further research of the TcHsp70 family, which could aid in the development and stress tolerance of cocoa species.

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Cocoa and Heart Health: A Historical Review of the Science

Cited by 15 publications

References 93 publications

The acute and sub-chronic effects of cocoa flavanols on mood, cognitive and cardiovascular health in young healthy adults: a randomized, controlled trial

The acute and sub-chronic effects of cocoa flavanols on mood, cognitive and cardiovascular health in young healthy adults: a randomized, controlled trial

Tetramethylpyrazine reverses high-glucose induced hypoxic effects by negatively regulating HIF-1α induced BNIP3 expression to ameliorate H9c2 cardiomyoblast apoptosis

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of Heat Shock Protein 70 Family in Theobroma cacao

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