Cocoa polyphenols in a menopause supplement mix
What it found
In 200 menopausal women with metabolic syndrome, a daily sachet containing cocoa polyphenols, myo-inositol and soy isoflavones was linked to fewer and milder hot flushes and some metabolic changes over 6 months.
The study had no control group.
What they found
Studies in people
Hot flushes
The share of women having 2 to 3 hot flushes a day rose from 28% to 65%, while those having 4 to 9 fell from 54% to 18%. Severe hot flushes disappeared by 6 months.
Night sweats
The share of women with 2 to 3 night sweats rose from 13% to 33%, and no woman reported more than 10 episodes at 6 months. Moderate night sweats fell from 87% to 30%.
Depression symptoms
Women reporting moderate depression symptoms fell from 87% to 56%, and severe symptoms fell from 4% to none.
Weight and diabetes
Overweight women fell from 88% to 51% and obese women from 14% to 9%. Women with non-insulin dependent diabetes fell from 26% to 16%.
Blood pressure and cholesterol
Women with high blood pressure fell from 9% to 3.5%. Women with high-risk HDL cholesterol fell from 28% to 17%.
What the authors conclude
“The oral administration of combined myo-Ins, cocoa polyphenols, and soy isoflavones has been shown to be a valid strategy as natural replacement therapy for improving menopausal symptoms, including VMS, symptoms of depression, and metabolic dysfunctions, thus also reducing cardiovascular risk in menopausal women with MetS.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the combined supplement improved menopausal symptoms, depression symptoms and metabolic problems in the women studied.
- They call for further prospective clinical trials on a wider population with a control group to confirm the results.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether a supplement combining cocoa polyphenols, myo-inositol and soy isoflavones could help with hot flushes, mood and metabolic problems in menopausal women with metabolic syndrome.
They looked back at records of 200 menopausal women aged 45 to 55 with metabolic syndrome and hot flushes. Each woman took one sachet a day for 6 months, containing 2000 mg myo-inositol, 30 mg cocoa polyphenols and 80 mg soy isoflavones (50 mg genistin). Women filled in a medical questionnaire at the start and after 6 months.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a retrospective study with no control group, so it cannot show that the supplement caused the improvements.
- The data came from women's own reports on a questionnaire, which may not be exact.
- The results are only in menopausal women with metabolic syndrome and may not apply to other people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The paper
- Title
- Dietary Supplementation of Myo-Inositol, Cocoa Polyphenols, and Soy Isoflavones Improves Vasomotor Symptoms and Metabolic Profile in Menopausal Women with Metabolic Syndrome: A Retrospective Clinical Study
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Mainini G, Ercolano S, De Simone R, Iavarone I, Lizza R, Passaro M (2024). Dietary Supplementation of Myo-Inositol, Cocoa Polyphenols, and Soy Isoflavones Improves Vasomotor Symptoms and Metabolic Profile in Menopausal Women with Metabolic Syndrome: A Retrospective Clinical Study. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania). doi:10.3390/medicina60040598Free full textPubMed 38674244DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error