Health benefits of Cocoa

Cocoa is the unprocessed cocoa bean obtained from the plant Theobroma cacao and originated deep in the equatorial rain forests of the Americas. Before the Spanish conquest, cocoa is the currency used for the trading purpose. Cocoa is often used as cocoa powder, cocoa butter and cocoa solids. Annually, 3000000 tons of cocoa are produced worldwide. Now Cocoa is used worldwide as a beverage and an ingredient in chocolates. In the world, Cote d’lvoire is the leading producer and exporter of cocoa. Cocoa and its health benefits are well documented in a number of research studies.
 Sources and extraction methods for cocoa
The sourcing of the cocoa is from the cocoa plantation estates and the process harvesting consists of plucking the ripe pods, opening the pods, extracting the seeds, allowing them to ferment, and setting them out to dry - preferably in the open air and in sunshine. During processing, the dried seeds are inspected and thoroughly cleaned with blow air and then with water. After cleaning, the seeds are roasted before the shell is removed, or of removing the shell before roasting. The inside of the cocoa bean is called the nib. The cocoa processors involve the nib-roasting process. The seed roasting allows the variety of roasting which facilitates the flavor formation and it requires the cocoa seeds with uniform size. But the nib roasting is more even when compared to the former and it does not need equal bean size. To prevent the migration of cocoa butter, it is better to remove the shell prior to the roasting process. Once the beans have been shelled and roasted, the nib is ground into a paste. The cocoa butter in the nib begins to melt due to the increase in temperature. This is the general extraction process and in accordance with the requirement some process are optimized and adjusted as per their requirement.
Its traditional health uses and sources
The Cocoa is used as a traditional medicine in the Latin America to treat many diseases/disorders. Some of them are, to weight in thin patients and as a stimulant in the patients with dull mental condition and also to improve digestion and bowel function, excretory systems including kidney and better assimilation of food. [1]
1. Teresa L. Dillinger, Patricia Barriga, Sylvia Escarcega, Martha Jimenez, Diana Salazar Lowe and Louis E.Grivetti (2000). Foods of the Gods: Cure for the humanity? A cultural history of the medicinal and ritual use of chocolate. J Nutrition 130: 20575 – 20725.

Active and healthy ingredients of cocoa 
The main active “healthy” ingredients of cocoa are Polyphenols (Catechins and Epigallocatechin), flavanols, stearic acid, oleic acid, cetyl acetate, traces of tocopherol, Theobromine and traces of saturated fats.
Health benefits of cocoa
A.  The consumption of cocoa with out the addition of milk, markedly increase the total plasma antioxidant levels. This is due to the presence of Epicatechin, a dietary flavanoid. [1] Hence the occurrence of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) mediated degenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes, rapid aging process can be prevented and/or reduced.
B.  The consumption of Cocoa is helpful to prevent myocardial and ischemic diseases. The anti-thrombotic activity of Cocoa prevents the occurrence of myocardial infarction and formation of thrombosis. [2, 3, 4]
C.  Also Cocoa decreases the blood pressure, increases the High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL), decreases the Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)and hence decrease the incidence of cardiovascular mortality [5]
D.   Consumption of cocoa can improve the cognitive performance and cocoa is a potent mood lifter. [6] Hence it can be a natural, nutritional supporter in the mood related disorders.
1. Mauro Serafini, Rossana Bugianesi, Guiseppe Maiani, Silvia Valtuena, Simone De Santis, Alan Crozier (2003). Nature424: 1013.
2. Rein D, Lotito S, Holt RR, Keen CL, Schmitz HH, Fraga CG.  Epicatechin in human plasma: in vivo determination and effect of chocolate consumption on plasma oxidation status (2000).  J Nutr130:2109S-2114S.
3. Holt, R. R., Schramm, D. D., Keen, C. L., Lazarus, S. A. & Schmitz, H. H (2002). J. Am.Med. Assoc. 287: 2212–2213.
4. Steinberg, F. M., Bearden, M. N. & Keen, C. L (2003). Cocoa and chocolate flavonoids: implications for cardiovascular health. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 103: 215–223.
5. Eric L Ding, Susan M Hutfless, Xin Ding and Saket Girotra (2006). Chocolate and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review. Nutrition and Metabolism 3: 2.
6. Scholey AB, French SJ, Morris PJ, Kennedy DO, Milne AL, Haskell CF (2010). Consumption of cocoa flavanols results in acute improvements in mood and cognitive performance during sustained mental effort. J Psychopharmacology 24(10):1504-14.
Active ingredients and its biological mechanisms:

A. PolyPhenolic Flavanoids:
      
       a. Epicatechin:
 The Polyphenols (specifically the Epicatechin) present in the cocoa reduce the platelet aggregation by inhibiting the key mediators of the biological process like prostacyclins and some prostaglandin variants. [1] The incidence of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease and death by cardiac problems can be avoided by the consumption of cocoa products. [2]
     b. Flavanols:
The Flavonols, a subclass of flavanoids present in the cocoa possess potent anti-inflammatory property that prevents the pain mechanisms related to immunological injury (Rheumatoid Arthritis) by suppressing the chemokines, a key mediator of the pain mechanism.[3]This property can also be useful in the prevention of inflammatory process of atherosclerosis and its immune-mediated cell response.
     c. Theobromine:
The theobromine present in the cocoa possesses therapeutic effects on hypertension, angina, edema and other circulatory problems. [4] This is due to non-competitive and selective inhibition of the phosphor-di-esterase enzyme which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases including allergy [5]. Theobromine is useful in the treatment of asthma and its associated problems like persistent cough. [6]
1. Rein D et al (2000). Cocoa inhibits platelet activation and function. Am J Clin Nutr. 72:30-5
2. Gerald Rimbach et al (2009).   Polyphenols from Cocoa and vascular health. Int J Mol Sci 10(10): 4290-4309. 
3. Selmi C, Mao TK, Keen CL, Schmitz HH, Eric Gershwin M (2006). The Anti-inflammatory properties of cocoa flavanols. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 47(2): S163-71.
4. Kelly, Caleb J (2005). Effects of theobromine should be considered in future studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 82 (2): 486–8
5. Essayan DM. (2001). "Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases." J Allergy Clin Immunol. 108 (5): 671–80
6. Irwin J. Polk (1997). All about Asthma: Stop Suffering and Start Living. New York: Insight Books. p. 100 
Research trends in cocoa health benefits  
 - According to a recent research study, the consumption of cocoa products increases the blood flow to the brain and thereby it prevents the events of stroke and also the development/progression of dementia and other age related cognitive disorders. [1]
 - Some pre-clinical research reports that the moderate consumption of cocoa and related products can prevent the generalized DNA damage, pathological apoptosis and in particular it can effectively inhibit the duodenal cancer. [2]
1. Sorond FA, Lipsitz LA, Hollenberg NK, Fisher NDL (2008). Cerebral blood flow response to flavanol-rich cocoa in healthy elderly humans. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 4:433-440.
2. David L. Katz, Kim Doughty and Ather Ali. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling. -Not available-, ahead of print. doi:10.1089/ars.2010.3697.
            Dosages:
(a) For high blood pressure: 46-105 gms/day of dark or milk chocolate, providing 213-500 mg of the active ingredients, cocoa Polyphenols. [1]
(b) For hypercholesterolemia and lipid disorders: 22gms/day. [2]
Cocoa as an antioxidant: 
The polyphenols are tend to increase the antioxidant capacity of plasma, with one study reporting that ingestion of 80 g of procyanidin-rich cocoa powder increased plasma Epicatechin concentrations 12-fold, significantly increased plasma total antioxidant capacity by 31% [3]
2. Karen A Cooper, Jennifer L Donovan, Andrew L Waterhouse and Gary Williamson (2008). Cocoa and health: a decade of research. Bri J Nutrition 99: 1-11.
3. MJ Abbe Maleyki and A Ismail (2010). Antioxidant properties of cocoa powder. J Food Biochem 34(1): 111-125
Negative elements or contra indications, side effects:

Theobromine:
The theobromine present in the cocoa can cause some side effects like by a decrease in the blood, sleeplessness, nausea, vomiting and psychological and behavioural problems like tremors and restlessness. [1] In some elderly people with smoking habits, theobromine can induce the risk of prostate cancer. [2] It is better to avoid cocoa and cocoa products in pregnancy.
1.  Howell, L.L., Coffin, V.L., Spealman, R.D. Behavioural and physiological effects of xanthines in nonhuman primates (1997). Psychopharmacology, 129 (1): 1-14
2.  Slattery, Martha L.; West, Dee W (1993). "Smoking, alcohol, coffee, tea, caffeine, and theobromine: risk of prostate cancer in Utah (United States)". Cancer Causes Control 4(6): 559–63
Some important and interesting facts about cocoa  
-     Cocoa powder is a richest source of minerals including magnesium and iron.
 -    Research studies concluded that cocoa does not cause acne - or make it worse.
 -   The other polyphenols that are present in the cocoa like phenyethylene and anandamide possess anti-depressant properties.
Recent research findings about cocoa 

     a. Reduction of Insulin Resistance:
 The consumption of the cocoa dramatically decreases the insulin resistance in Essential Hypertension (EH) patients. The levels of the insulin-resistance biomarkers like homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), and insulin sensitivity index (ISI) were calculated from OGTT values are within the normal range. [1]Hence the Cocoa can be included in the diet for the insulin-resistant diabetes patients as well as the Essential hypertension patients with Insulin-resistance
    b. Anti-Inflammatory Property of Cocoa:
The immunological and inflammatory triggers and key underlying mechanisms leading to the process of inflammation may vary between clinical conditions but they share many common mediators, including specific patterns of eicosanoids, prostaglandins and cytokine production. The flavanols present in the cocoa is found to possess potential anti-inflammatory activity relevant to cardiovascular health in pre-clinical studies. The experimental evidence demonstrates that some cocoa-derived flavanols can reduce the production and effect of pro-inflammatory mediators either directly or by acting on signalling pathways. [2] In accordance with the results available from the literatures, the flavanol-rich cocoa could be a potential candidate for the treatment, or possibly prevention, of the broad array of chronic diseases that are linked to dysfunctional inflammatory responses.
1. Grassi D, Necozione S, Lippi C, Croce G, Valeri L, Pasqualetti P, Desideri G, Blumberg JB, Ferri C (2005). Cocoa Reduces Blood Pressure and Insulin Resistance and Improves Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilation in Hypertensives. Hypertension 46(2): 398-405.
2. Selmi C, Mao TK, Keen CL, Schmitz HH, Eric Gershwin M (2006). The Anti-inflammatory properties of cocoa flavanols. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 47(2): S163-71
c. Anti-hypertensive Property of Cocoa:
 In a comparative clinical study between the beneficial properties of Cocoa and Green tea and black tea flavanoids, the researchers concluded that the consumption of foods rich in cocoa may reduce blood pressure, while the tea intake appears to have no beneficial or therapeutic effect. [1]
1. Taubert D, Roesen R, Schömig E (April 2007). "Effect of cocoa and tea intake on blood pressure: a meta-analysis". Arch. Intern. Med. 167 (7): 626–34



0 comments:

Post a Comment