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- Cocoa (Theobroma cacao)
- Cognition
- Mood
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Date:
03-29-2013 | HC# 031321-469
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Re: High-dose Cocoa Polyphenols Improve Calmness and Contentedness after One Month of Supplementation in Healthy Subjects
Pase
MP, Scholey AB, Pipingas A, et al. Cocoa polyphenols enhance positive mood
states but not cognitive performance: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. J Psychopharmacol. January 29, 2013; [epub
ahead of print]. doi: 10.1177/0269881112473791.
Cocoa
(Theobroma cacao) contains
polyphenolic compounds that have been shown to positively affect anxiety and enhance
calmness, and cocoa polyphenols have also been shown to increase blood flow to
the brain and improve cognition. This randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled, parallel study sought to assess the neuropsychological
effects of high and low doses of cocoa polyphenols by examining both acute and
sub-chronic effects on cognition and mood in healthy, middle-aged subjects. Cognitive,
neurocognitive, and cardiovascular performance, as well as mood, were measured
in this trial; this paper reports on the results for cognition and mood, while
neurocognitive results are reported in another paper.1
Healthy,
middle-aged adults (aged 40-65 years), free from age-related diseases such as
dementia and cardiovascular disease, and not pregnant or smokers or taking any
supplements, were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a
dark chocolate drink mix containing either 500 mg (high dose), 250 mg (low
dose), or 0 mg (placebo) of cocoa polyphenols once daily for 30 days. The drink
mixes differed only in their polyphenol content, but were otherwise matched for
their taste, energy, and calories. The high-dose treatment consisted of Acticoa™
cocoa powder (Barry Callebaut; Zurich, Switzerland). It is unclear from where
the other treatments were obtained or how the drink mix was consumed (i.e.,
mixed with a beverage or food). The study was funded by Barry Callebaut.
Measures
of cognition and mood included the Cognitive Drug Research (CDR) system, which
rates quality of working memory, quality of episodic secondary memory, power of
attention, speed of memory, and continuity of attention. Self-rated mood was tested with 16 total
scales of the Bond-Lader Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Both were taken at
baseline and after receiving 30 days of treatment. For the acute part of the
study, measures were taken for each treatment at 1, 2.5, and 4 hours after the
first dose.
Participants
completed a total of 3 testing sessions. On the first day, they took the tests
4 times to minimize the effects of practice on the study days. On the second
day, baseline and acute measures were taken following acute treatment. On the final
day, measures were taken after the 30 days of treatment. Subjects were
instructed to refrain from eating other foods containing polyphenols or drinking
caffeine- or alcohol-containing beverages on test days, but were allowed a
light breakfast. Throughout the study, they were asked to eat no other sources
of chocolate and kept a food diary recording other sources of polyphenols
consumed. Dietary polyphenolic content was calculated after the 30 days and was
found to be comparable between the groups (153.7-161.5 mg/day).
Of
the 87 participants recruited, 72 completed the study, and 71 were included in
the analysis (high dose, n=24; low dose, n=25; placebo, n=22); most were lost
to follow-up at baseline or 30 days. For the acute testing, there were no
significant time by treatment interactions for any dose on cognition or mood.
For the sub-chronic testing, there were no significant effects of cocoa at any
of the polyphenolic doses on any of the cognitive factor scores.
There
were significant effects on certain aspects of mood, including the calmness (F [2,
68]=3.62, P<0.05) and contentedness (F [2, 68]=3.66, P<0.05) VAS scores. Calmness
was significant for the high-polyphenol group (t=-2.36, P<0.05), but not for
the low-polyphenol (t=1.89, P=0.07) or placebo (t=-1.05, P=0.31) groups when
measured by paired t-test. Contentedness was also found to be significant for
the high-polyphenol group (t=-2.54, P<0.05), but not for the low-polyphenol
(t=1.02, P=0.32) or placebo (t=0.03, P=0.76) groups.
The
authors note that this trial is the first to show a benefit for positive mood
states following cocoa polyphenol supplementation in healthy subjects, and
thereby provides a rationale for investigating whether cocoa polyphenol
supplementation can also benefit clinical anxiety. That there were no acute
effects on either cognition or mood at any time point may be because 1 acute
dose is too small to cause detectable changes. The fact that subjects ate a
lunch meal in between the first and remaining acute time points may have
affected the results due to postprandial interference. A larger study with longer
supplementation periods and determination of the optimal dose will help to
strengthen the findings of this study.
—Risa Schulman, PhD
Reference
1Camfield
DA, Scholey A, Pipingas A, et al. Steady state visually evoked potential
(SSVEP) topography changes associated with cocoa flavanol consumption. Physiol Behav. 2012;105(4):948-957.
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