Cocoa flavanols and blood vessel markers in young and elderly people
What it found
In healthy young and elderly people, a cocoa flavanol drink lowered certain blood markers of blood vessel stress and improved blood vessel function.
The markers were higher in older people to begin with.
What they found
Studies in people
Age and microparticles
Older people had higher levels of three types of endothelial microparticles in their blood than younger people. These microparticles are markers of blood vessel lining activation and injury.
Cocoa flavanols lower microparticles
After 2 weeks, the cocoa flavanol drink lowered two types of endothelial microparticles in both young and elderly people compared to the flavanol-free drink. The effect did not differ by age.
Blood vessel function improved
The cocoa flavanol drink also improved flow-mediated dilation, a measure of blood vessel function, in both age groups. The drop in microparticles was linked to this improvement.
Microparticles and blood pressure
Higher levels of certain microparticles were linked to higher systolic blood pressure and stiffer arteries. Changes in these microparticles after the drink were linked to changes in blood pressure and artery stiffness.
What the authors conclude
“This indicates that flavanol consumption can improve endothelial functional integrity in healthy humans.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that healthy cardiovascular aging is associated with increased endothelial microparticles along with decreased vascular function that can be modulated by a dietary flavanol intervention along with improvements in vascular function.
- They state that their data further support that an intervention with dietary cocoa flavanols improves endothelial functional integrity in healthy humans.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether cocoa flavanols could improve the functional integrity of the blood vessel lining in healthy people of different ages, and whether a blood marker called endothelial microparticles could show this.
They took blood samples from 20 healthy young men (under 35) and 19 healthy elderly men (50 to 80) who were non-smokers. For 2 weeks, participants drank either a cocoa flavanol drink (450 mg twice daily) or a matched drink without flavanols, and the researchers measured endothelial microparticles and blood vessel function before and after.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a 2-week study, so it cannot show whether the effects on blood vessel markers last longer.
- The study included only healthy non-smoking men, so the results may not apply to women or people with health conditions.
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 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error