Cocoa intake attenuates oxidative stress associated with rat adjuvant arthritis

Abstract

23 24Cocoa contains flavonoids with antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to 25 ascertain the effect of cocoa intake on oxidative stress associated with a model of 26 chronic inflammation such as adjuvant arthritis. Female Wistar rats were fed with a 5 or 27 10% cocoa-enriched diet or were given p.o. a quercetin suspension every other day for 28 10 days. Arthritis was induced by a heat-killed Mycobacterium butyricum suspension. 29Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by macrophages, and splenic superoxide 30 dismutase (total, cytoplasmic and mitochondrial) and catalase activities were 31 determined. Clinically, joint swelling in arthritic rats was not reduced by antioxidants; 32 however, the 5% cocoa diet and quercetin administration reduced ROS production. 33Moreover, the 5% cocoa diet normalized the activities of superoxide dismutase and 34 catalase. In conclusion, a cocoa diet reduces the oxidative stress associated with a 35 chronic inflammatory pathology, although it was not enough to attenuate joint swelling. 36 37

Inclusion of cocoa as a dietary supplement represses expression of inflammatory proteins in spinal trigeminal nucleus in response to chronic trigeminal nerve stimulation

“…Our findings support an important role of dietary cocoa to suppress pathological inflammatory events associated with neurological diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer . Our observed changes in protein expression within the upper spinal cord are likely the result of direct effects of cocoa metabolites since dietary plant flavonoids and sterols can cross the blood brain barrier, accumulate in the brain, and modulate neural function .…”

Quercetin and allopurinol reduce liver thioredoxin‐interacting protein to alleviate inflammation and lipid accumulation in diabetic rats

“…The dietary flavonoid quercetin is thought to promote health, partly due to its ability to act as an antioxidant against ROS (Hertog and Hollman, ; Ramos‐Romero et al ., ) and to inhibit xanthine oxidase (XO; Zhu et al ., ). This compound decreases oxidative stress, improves the antioxidant status and inhibits liver cell apoptosis in STZ‐induced type 1 diabetic rats (Dias et al ., ; Babujanarthanam et al ., ; Bakhshaeshi et al ., ).…”

Effects of grape seed extract on dyslipidaemia: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

“…Moreover, the study of Jia et al revealed that short-term consumption of a cocoa product lowered serum levels of LDL-cholesterol and TC (42) . In addition, a growing body of evidence from both in vitro studies and animal studies also demonstrated the antidyslipidaemic and anti-inflammatory effects of cocoa and cocoa flavonoids (43)(44)(45) . These favourable effects on the lipid profile might be explained by the reduction in the hepatic activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methlyglutaryl-coenzyme reductase, the limiting enzyme of cholesterogenesis (46) .…”