Chronic flavanol-rich cocoa powder supplementation reduces body fat mass in endurance athletes by modifying the follistatin/myostatin ratio and leptin levels

Abstract

Flavanols-rich cocoa reduced body fat composition in athletes through modulation of follistatin and leptin levels.

The Health Effects of Chocolate and Cocoa: A Systematic Review

“…One study [ 30 ] was a five-arm controlled trial with equal sample size, one study was a RCT trial involving two phases [ 31 ] and another four studies [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ] were crossover trials. Fifteen studies were conducted in eight different countries, namely United States of America (USA) [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 ], Japan [ 35 , 38 , 39 ], Spain [ 29 , 40 , 41 ], China [ 32 ], Korea [ 42 ], Russia [ 30 ], Australia [ 31 ] and Portugal [ 43 ].…”

“…Ten studies included participants of both genders [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 43 ]. The remaining studies include participants of either male or female gender [ 29 , 36 , 39 , 40 , 42 ]. The age of the participants ranged from around 20 years [ 38 ] to 69 years [ 31 , 37 ].…”

Regulation of Cytochrome c Oxidase by Natural Compounds Resveratrol, (–)-Epicatechin, and Betaine

“…The fact that Kuna Indians in the San Blas Islands of Panama, who consume lots of cocoa drinks, have low incidence rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease [112] evoked interest in the protective effect of EPI, since it is the most abundant polyphenolic monomer in cacao [113]. The administration of EPI rich cocoa has been suggested to improve the gastrointestinal system, nervous system, muscle performance, plasma lipid profiles, glucose homeostasis, obesity, and insulin sensitivity [114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124]. Many of these advantageous effects have been validated by the administration of pure EPI compound in humans and rodents [125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138].…”

Plant polyphenols effect on gut microbiota: Recent advancements in clinical trials

“…Modulation of gut microbiota using red wine also showed protective effects on obesity-related metabolic disorders (Moreno-Indias et al, 2016[ 16 ]). The polyphenols in cocoa powder and green tea, especially flavanols epicatechin and catechin, are metabolized by the microbiota with increased bioavailability and similar protective outcomes (Janssens et al, 2016[ 12 ]; Gómez-Juaristi et al, 2019[ 6 ]; Ángel García-Merino et al, 2020[ 1 ]; Vilela et al, 2020[ 24 ]). A deeper understanding of the correlation between dietary metabolites and gut microbiota is, therefore, essential to attain beneficial effects of modulating host-microbiome under disease conditions.…”

“…The below table (Tab. 1) (References in Table 1: Ángel García-Merino et al, 2020[ 1 ]; Basak et al, 2020[ 2 ]; Chashmniam et al, 2019[ 3 ]; Conterno et al, 2019[ 4 ]; de Oliveira Silva et al, 2020[ 5 ]; Guevara-Cruz et al, 2020[ 8 ]; Hidalgo-Liberona et al, 2020[ 10 ]; Istas et al, 2019[ 11 ]; Lima et al, 2019[ 14 ]; Medina-Vera et al, 2019[ 15 ]; Ntemiri et al, 2020[ 17 ]; Park et al, 2020[ 18 ]; Vetrani et al, 2020[ 23 ]; Vilela et al, 2020[ 24 ]) summarizes the recent clinical findings on the relation between various dietary polyphenols and gut microbiota.…”