Monday January 30, 2012

Mars Reveals Cocoa Flavanol Insights

McLean, VA — Cocoa flavanols’ cardiovascular benefits might be independent of any antioxidant properties, according to Mars, Inc.’s recent study of the health benefits of cocoa.

Absorption and metabolism play a significant role in how flavanols provide circulatory and cardiovascular benefits, while earlier research suggested flavanols exerted their benefits through an antioxidant mechanism.

The chocolate supplier’s study shows the extensive metabolism of epicatechin following consumption of a flavanol-containing cocoa drink. The company says that because in vitro studies using un-metabolized cocoa flavanols do not consider metabolism, they are not able to accurately reflect what is happening in the body.

Dr. Hagen Schroeter, the study’s author and director of fundamental health and nutrition research for Mars, explains: “The study provides a critical step towards a more complete understanding of flavanols and their benefits and, ultimately, towards the translation of this knowledge into innovative flavanol-rich food products and concrete health recommendations.”

The research has been published in the international journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine and at http://www.sciencedirect.com.