Washington, Mar 7: Researchers have found that the daily consumption of a specially-made cocoa drink may have the potential to positively influence blood vessel health.

The cocoa used in the study was rich in flavanols, naturally-occurring compounds abundant in freshly harvested cocoa prior to their destruction during the typical processing and manufacture of cocoa and chocolate products.

These results suggest this flavanol-rich cocoa could have important implications for cardiovascular health since reduced endothelial function is recognized as an early stage in blood vessel diseases such as atherosclerosis.

The researchers in Germany noted that the benefits to study participants, a group of male smokers – a population known to have impaired blood vessel function, after consuming this special flavanol-rich cocoa drink for a week, was comparable to long-term drug therapy with statins.

In the first part of the study, participants drank specially made cocoa beverages that contained different flavanol levels – ranging from 28 to 918 milligrams.

At each level, the optimal effect occurred after two hours. The drink containing 179 milligrams of cocoa flavanols resulted in a 50 percent improvement increase in blood vessel function in study participants.

Each higher level also significantly increased endothelial function, with the highest level of 918 mg appearing to reverse impairments in blood vessel function to such an extent that it was restored to a performance level expected in a person with no known cardiovascular risk factors.

"This new research is the first to provide clear evidence suggesting that daily intake of this flavanol-rich cocoa could have a sustained benefit for circulatory health. This study also suggests that the effects of this flavanol-rich cocoa on blood vessels is independent of generalized 'antioxidant' actions often incorrectly reported in the media," said Harold Schmitz, PhD, Chief Science Officer at Mars, Incorporated, which has conducted and supported the vast majority of the research conducted on flavanol-rich cocoa reported in peer-reviewed scientific literature.

"This study should give pause to those claiming that flavanols in cocoa act as antioxidants when describing their link to cardiovascular or circulatory health," he added.

In the seven-day feeding study designed to evaluate sustained benefits, the participants drank three doses of the cocoa drink each day for a total of 918 mg of flavanols daily.

Researchers tested blood vessel function daily before the first morning dose of flavanols and two hours after the first dose. They found daily improvements in blood flow, with near reversal of impairment after consumption of the drink containing 306 mg of cocoa flavanols on day seven.

The study is published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology. (ANI)