Science celebrates cocoa and chocolate's potential health benefits

(Press-News.org) SAN DIEGO, March 28, 2012 — If eccentric candy-maker Willy Wonka could leap from the pages of Roald Dahl's classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and walk these streets, he might make a bee-line for a festival of cocoa and chocolate on the menu today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

As the world's largest scientific society, ACS is hosting a celebration of scientific discoveries about the food that could lay claim to being the world's favorite treat, comfort food and indulgence. The ACS symposium, titled "Cocoa: Science and Technology," features 18 reports from international experts on the key ingredient in chocolate — cocoa — and the emerging health benefits and other aspects of the food that has delighted people for almost 2,000 years.

"Chocolate is one of the foods with the greatest appeal to the general population," said Sunil Kochhar, Ph.D., one of the symposium participants. "The luscious aroma, taste and textures of chocolate have delighted the senses of people in many parts of the world for centuries and make it a well-known comfort food."

Kochhar, who is with the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, is noted for landmark research that is helping to establish chocolate's potential health benefits. He described one study, for instance, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, one of ACS's 41 peer-reviewed scientific journals, detailing the biochemical basis for chocolate's reputation as a comfort food. The study, which included 30 healthy adults, found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate per day reduced levels of stress hormones and other indicators of emotional anxiety in people who felt stressed-out.

"The flavonoids and other ingredients in chocolate with beneficial health effects originate in cocoa," Kochhar explained. "In making chocolate, cocoa seeds undergo natural fermentation before being processed into key ingredients for making chocolate — namely cocoa fat and cocoa powder."

Among other presentations at the symposium, scientists reported:

How the introduction of new varieties of the cacao tree that resist "witch's broom," a fungal disease that has decimated some crops, may affect the taste of cocoa and chocolate. That chocolate may be useful in treating of diseases involving disorders of the trigeminal nerve, including migraine and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. The study found evidence that cocoa contains biologically active ingredients that soothe the nerve's excitability, a probable cause of these disorders. Findings about the biological basis of chocolate's anti-inflammatory effects. Its rich content of polyphenols inhibit secretion of certain enzymes into the small intestine that cause inflammation. How chocolate may be helpful in fighting cardiovascular problems for individuals with type 2 diabetes. Flavonoids in the chocolate strengthen mitochondria, the powerhouse of body cells, which are in a weakened condition in patients with cardiovascular problems. On chocolate and high blood pressure. They found that flavonoids in chocolate lower blood pressure and thus might help in reducing heart disease risks. A cocoa-rich diet may reduce the risk of colon cancer by preventing undesirable changes in the cells or destroying cells that form precancerous lesions. That epicatechin, a beneficial antioxidant especially rich in dark chocolate, strengthens cell membranes and offers protection from some forms of cardiovascular disease. Feeding chocolate to animals in laboratory experiments helped protect their livers from damage that can lead to liver disease. Chocolate consumption may be especially beneficial for cigarette smokers. Polyphenols in the dark chocolate act on blood platelets to prevent clot formation.

INFORMATION:

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Selected abstracts from the symposium "Cocoa: Science and Technology" follow.

Abstracts

Cocoa and chocolate: The science of delight
Sunil Kochhar1 , Nestlé Research Center, P O Box 44, Lausanne-26, Vaud, Switzerland , 412 178 49336, sunil.kochhar@rdls.nestle.com

Chocolate is one of the foods with the greatest appeal to the general population. The attractive tastes and textures of chocolate and chocolate products delight the senses and make it a well-known comfort food. Cocoa seeds undergo natural fermentation before they are turned into a key ingredient for chocolate making namely cocoa fat and cocoa powder. The latter is indeed rich source of peptides and flavonoids, and produces the delectable taste and aroma of chocolate after roasting. In spite of a large body of literature on the cocoa flavor, there are very few studies devoted to the role of proteins/peptides in the flavor development of cocoa or chocolate. Cocoa storage proteins, which makes up to 10-15 % (w/w) dry weight, is made up of four predominant proteins of apparent molecular weight 14.5-, 31- and 47-kDa and 21-kDa representing 95 % (w/w) of total protein. We developed an in-vitro fermentation process of cocoa beans, mimicking the natural fermentation and identified a number short-chain peptides originating from storage proteins that are the key cocoa/chocolate flavor precursors. The presentation will cover the characterization of proteins and peptides and flavor precursors. Additionally, results from a recent study employing metabolomics approach to study the possible metabolic signatures linked to the regular intake of dark chocolate in healthy subjects will be presented. In summary, metabolic profiles of plasma and urine samples when combined with multivariate statistics show discrimination of subjects according to their chocolate liking as given by the scoring to the questionnaire on chocolate consumption. The class separation using plasma metabolic profiles was present even from samples collected before the chocolate intake, supporting most likely the occurrence of metabolic imprint or memory independent of the chocolate intake. Results indicate that subjects who do not like chocolate harbour statistically different lipoprotein profile in the postprandial phase.

Labels on chocolate bars: An accurate number for consumers to determine relative antioxidant content
Joe A Vinson1 , Prof, PhD, University of Scranton, Department of Chemistry, Loyola Hall, University of Scranton, PA, 18510, United States , 570-941-7551, vinson@scranton.edu

There has been a dramatic increase in articles published about chocolate and health, especially related to heart disease and diabetes. Currently on the labels of many chocolate bars are % cacao solids (CS). But does this number have any relationship with the amount of polyphenol antioxidants in the product? Our group analyzed 31 commercial pure chocolate bars that have % CS on the label by Folin and FRAP. The catechin equivalents of the defatted extracts were corrected to determine polyphenols (µmol/g) in the chocolate bar. Foreign bars (milk and dark chocolate combined) have more antioxidants than domestic bars with the same % CS on the label. There is a significant linear relationship between % CS on the label and polyphenol content with both Folin and FRAP. Thus the consumer can know that 70% CS has about twice as much total antioxidants per serving as a bar with 35% CS.

Regulation of inflammatory proteins in trigeminal ganglion and trigeminal nucleus caudalis in response to cocoa enriched diets: Implications for migraine and TMJ disorder
Paul L Durham1 , Dr., PhD, 524 N Boonville, Springfield, MO, 65806, United States , 417-836-3026, pauldurham@missouristate.edu

The objective of our research was to investigate the cellular effects of a cocoa-enriched diet on neurons and glia in the trigeminal ganglia and trigeminal nucleus caudalis under basal conditions, and in response to acute or chronic inflammation. Sprague Dawley rats were fed a control diet or isocaloric diets enriched in cocoa for 14 days prior to injection of capsaicin or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). The stimulated expression of proteins associated with promoting and maintaining inflammatory and nociceptive responses were repressed in animals on a cocoa enriched diet. The inhibitory effects of cocoa are likely to be mediated via increased basal expression of the anti-inflammatory proteins MKP-1, MKP-3, and IL-10. Data from our study provide evidence that cocoa contains biologically active ingredients that modulate neuronal excitability, and thus, cocoa would be beneficial as a nutraceutical for the treatment of diseases involving trigeminal nerve activation such as migraine and TMJ disorder.

Alterations in skeletal muscle indicators of mitochondrial structure and biogenesis in patients with type 2 diabetes and heart failure: Effects of epicatechin rich cocoa
Francisco Villarreal1 , Dr., MD, PhD, UCSD, Medicine, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA, 92093, United States , 858-534-3630, fvillarr@ucsd.edu

(-)-Epicatechin (Epi), a flavanol in cacao stimulates mitochondrial volume and cristae density and protein markers of skeletal muscle (SkM) mitochondrial biogenesis in mice. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and heart failure (HF) are diseases associated with defects in SkM mitochondrial structure/function. A study was implemented to assess perturbations and to determine the effects of Epi-rich chocolate in SkM mitochondrial structure and mediators of biogenesis. Five patients with DM2 and stage II/III HF consumed dark chocolate containing ~100 mg of Epi/day for 3 months. We assessed changes in protein and/or activity levels of oxidative phosphorylation proteins, porin, mitofilin, nNOS, nitric oxide , cGMP, SIRT1, PGC1α, Tfam and, mitochondria volume and cristae abundance by electron microscopy from SkM. Apparent major losses in mitochondria structure and mediators of biogenesis were observed prior to treatment. Epi-rich cocoa increased protein and/or activity of these molecules as well as cristae abundance while not changing mitochondria volume density. Epi-rich cocoa treatment improves SkM mitochondrial structure and in an orchestrated manner, increases molecular markers of mitochondrial biogenesis resulting in enhanced cristae density. Future controlled studies are warranted using Epi-rich cocoa (or pure Epi) to translate improved mitochondrial structure into enhanced cardiac and/or SkM muscle function.

Dark chocolate inhibits platelet isoprostanes via nox2 down-regulation in smokers
Pasquale Pignatelli1 , Md, PhD, Sapienza, University of Rome, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialities, Viale del Policlinico, Rome, Rm, Italy , 0039-6-4997-7777, pasquale.pignatelli@uniroma1.it

Dark chocolate is reported to decrease platelet activation but the underlying mechanism is still undefined. Dark chocolate is rich of polyphenols that could exert an antiplatelet action via inhibition of oxidative stress. Aim of the study was to assess if dark chocolate inhibits platelet reactive oxidant species (ROS) formation and platelet activation.

Methods : Twenty healthy subjects (HS) and 20 smokers were randomly allocated to receive 40 g of dark (cocoa >85%) or milk chocolate (cocoa END