Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Taking a daily cocoa extract supplement rich in flavanols appears to reduce inflammation associated with aging.
This is according to new results from the largest study of its kind to date.
These findings add biological support to previous evidence suggesting that cocoa flavanols can help protect the heart.
It indicates how plant compounds affect the aging process by reducing inflammation.
Inflammatory indicators
In new research led by a team from Massachusetts General Hospital Brigham, scientists studied changes in five age-related inflammatory indicators in participants who took cocoa supplements daily over several years.
The data covered 598 participants randomly selected from the COSMOS Cocoa and Multivitamin Supplement Results Study.
It is a large, randomized, placebo-controlled study that included 21,442 participants aged 60 years and older.
The cocoa section of the experiment tested a daily nutritional supplement containing 500 mg of cocoa flavanols.
Within this mixture, it contained about 80 mg of one compound called epicatechin.
Which is believed to be one of the most important flavanols for cardiovascular health.
Cardiovascular diseases
“Interest in studying cocoa extract and inflammation began based on a reduction in associated cardiovascular disease,” said researcher Howard Sisow, assistant epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“We also recognize the importance of the intersection between healthy aging and cardiovascular health,” he added.
Inflammation associated with aging can lead to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
Therefore, it has been investigated whether taking cocoa extract supplements for many years, compared to placebo, can modify inflammation – and the data suggest so.
immune-boosting
Dr. Yanbin Dong, principal investigator and director of the Georgia Institute for Prevention GPI, stated that through cocoa the level of interferon-γ, an immune-related cytokine, rises.
Which opens new questions for future research.
“Although cocoa extract is not a substitute for a healthy lifestyle, these results are encouraging and highlight its potential role in modulating inflammation with age,” he added.
Flavanol from multiple sources
Previous studies have linked cocoa compounds to improved memory and protection against type 2 diabetes.
Other studies-including those published in 2016, 2019, and 2023-specifically examined whether cocoa flavanols could reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in older adults.
It should be noted that in these studies, nutritional supplements made from cocoa contained flavanol compounds that are also found in foods such as tea, berries, and grapes.
The results could therefore reflect the broader benefits of this group of phytochemicals, not cocoa alone.
The study results reinforce the importance of a varied and diverse plant-based diet, especially in the context of inflammation.
