Cocoa flavanols and blood vessel lining markers in young and elderly people
What it found
Drinking cocoa flavanols for two weeks lowered tiny particles linked to blood vessel damage in healthy young and older men.
The drop matched better blood vessel widening.
What they found
Studies in people
More vessel markers with age
Older men had higher levels of three types of tiny particles shed from blood vessel linings than younger men. These particle levels tracked with age, blood pressure, and artery stiffness.
Flavanols lowered vessel particles
After 2 weeks of drinking 450 mg of cocoa flavanols twice daily, both young and older men had fewer of these particles compared to those who drank the control beverage. The size of the drop was similar in both age groups.
Better vessel widening
The fall in particle levels went hand in hand with better blood vessel widening. People whose particle counts dropped the most also showed the biggest gains in how well their arteries opened up.
Other heart measures improved
As reported earlier from this same trial, the flavanol group also saw lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and less stiff arteries. Better blood flow through tiny skin vessels was seen in both young and older men.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that normal aging in healthy people is linked to more tiny particles from blood vessel linings and worse vessel function.
- They say that drinking cocoa flavanols can lower these particles and improve the working condition of the blood vessel lining in healthy humans.
How it was done
Blood vessels lose function as people age, which raises the risk of heart disease. The authors wanted to see if cocoa flavanols could protect the inner lining of blood vessels in healthy people of different ages.
They studied 20 young men under 35 and 19 older men aged 50 to 80. Half drank a beverage with 450 mg of cocoa flavanols twice a day for 2 weeks. The other half drank a matching drink without flavanols.
What it can’t tell you
- This trial only included healthy men, so it cannot show whether women or people with existing illnesses would see the same changes.
- It lasted just 2 weeks, so it cannot show whether these improvements last over months or years.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- King's College London, United Kingdom; University of Surrey, United Kingdom
The paper
- Title
- Cocoa Flavanols Improve Endothelial Functional Integrity in Healthy Young and Elderly Subjects
- Type
- Clinical trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Gröne M, Sansone R, Höffken P, et al (2020). Cocoa Flavanols Improve Endothelial Functional Integrity in Healthy Young and Elderly Subjects. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.9b02251Free full textPubMed 31294557DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error