Chocolate, “Food of the Gods”: History, Science, and Human Health
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 6;16(24):4960. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244960. ABSTRACT Chocolate is well known for its fine flavor, and its history began in...
The role of nutraceuticals in prevention and treatment of hypertension: An updated review of the literature
Food Res Int. 2020 Feb;128:108749. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2019.108749. Epub 2019 Nov 7. ABSTRACT Hypertension (HTN) is a worldwide epidemic in both developed and developing countries. It...
Acute (-)-Epicatechin Consumption: Effects on Local Vasodilation Following Resistance Exercise and High-Intensity Exercise Performance
Sports (Basel). 2020 Feb 15;8(2):22. doi: 10.3390/sports8020022. ABSTRACT (-)-Epicatechin is a polyphenol previously shown to enhance vascular health. The purposes of the current studies were...
Chronic and acute effects of cocoa products intake on arterial stiffness and platelet count and function: A systematic review and dose-response Meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2021;61(3):357-379. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1733484. Epub 2020 Mar 4. ABSTRACT The findings of trials investigating the effect of cocoa products consumption on...
Cocoa Flavanols Protect Human Endothelial Cells from Oxidative Stress
Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020 Jun;75(2):161-168. doi: 10.1007/s11130-020-00807-1. ABSTRACT Oxidative stress may cause functional disorders of vascular endothelia which can lead to endothelial apoptosis and...
Chronic Consumption of Bovine Dairy Milk Attenuates Dietary Saturated Fatty Acid-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction
Front Nutr. 2020 May 6;7:58. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00058. eCollection 2020. ABSTRACT Ingestion of Western-diets enriched in long chain saturated fatty acids (LCSFA) are associated with increased...
Effects of Cocoa-Rich Chocolate on Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Arterial Stiffness in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Nutrients. 2020 Jun 12;12(6):1758. doi: 10.3390/nu12061758. ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the intake of 10 g of cocoa-rich chocolate on blood...
Changes in the Composition of Methylxanthines, Polyphenols, and Volatiles and Sensory Profiles of Cocoa Beans from the Sul 1 Genotype Affected by Fermentation
J Agric Food Chem. 2020 Aug 12;68(32):8658-8675. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c02909. Epub 2020 Jul 29. ABSTRACT The Sul 1 cacao (Theobroma cacao) genotype has become more popular...
Preventive effect of cocoa flavanols against glucotoxicity-induced vascular inflammation in the arteria of diabetic rats and on the inflammatory process in TNF-alpha-stimulated endothelial cells
Food Chem Toxicol. 2020 Dec;146:111824. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2020.111824. Epub 2020 Oct 21. ABSTRACT Hyperglycaemia induces a vascular inflammatory process that is a critical event in cardiovascular...
Dietary flavanols improve cerebral cortical oxygenation and cognition in healthy adults
Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 24;10(1):19409. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-76160-9. ABSTRACT Cocoa flavanols protect humans against vascular disease, as evidenced by improvements in peripheral endothelial function, likely through...
Acute Effects of Cocoa Flavanols on Blood Pressure and Peripheral Vascular Reactivity in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Essential Hypertension: A Protocol for an Acute, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Trial
Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021 Mar 15;8:602086. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.602086. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT Introduction: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are at high risk to develop vascular...
Cocoa Flavanols Improve Vascular Responses to Acute Mental Stress in Young Healthy Adults
Nutrients. 2021 Mar 27;13(4):1103. doi: 10.3390/nu13041103. ABSTRACT Mental stress has been shown to induce cardiovascular events, likely due to its negative impact on vascular function....
Cocoa Flavanols Adjuvant to an Oral Nutritional Supplement Acutely Enhances Nutritive Flow in Skeletal Muscle without Altering Leg Glucose Uptake Kinetics in Older Adults
Nutrients. 2021 May 13;13(5):1646. doi: 10.3390/nu13051646. ABSTRACT Ageing is associated with postprandial muscle vascular and metabolic dysfunction, suggesting vascular modifying interventions may be of benefit....
Neuroprotective effects of theobromine in transient global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rat model
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2021 Sep 24;571:74-80. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.07.051. Epub 2021 Jul 22. ABSTRACT Transient global cerebral ischemia (tGCI) is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by...
The Relationship Between Dietary Choices and Health and Premature Vascular Ageing
Heart Lung Circ. 2021 Nov;30(11):1647-1657. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2021.07.009. Epub 2021 Aug 12. ABSTRACT The paper aims to review the available data about the main mechanisms enabling...