Polyphenol Bioavailability From Chocolate
Comparison of the Bioavailability of Polyphenols From Milk and Dark Chocolate
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
Dark chocolate is one of the richest sources of polyphenols, for example, a standard 40g portion of dark chocolate contains 400-800 mg of polyphenols, compared to red wine (170 mg /100ml) or an apple (200 mg/piece). Cocoa polyphenols, most notably the catechins, can exist in both lipid and water-based environments (amphipathic), meaning they can spare both lipophillic and hydrophilic vitamins. There have been a number of human trials conducted using chocolate or cocoa and measuring various endpoints. Most have been conducted with dark chocolate. An article in Nature found that the bioavailability of epicatechin from milk chocolate was substantially reduced compared to dark, and even dark taken with a glass of milk (Serafini et al 2003). The hypothesis was that the milk proteins bind to polyphenols, making them unavailable. Subsequent studies have not been able to reproduce this, but none have been conducted using solid chocolate as the first study, all have been done using a drink matrix, which may completely alter the binding interactions of the polyphenols and protein. Previous bioavailability trials with dark chocolate have shown a 12 fold increase in plasma epicatechin 2 hours after consumption of 80g of chocolate containing 557 mg total polyphenols (137 mg epicatechin) (Rein et al 2000) with a concurrent increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity and a decrease in TBARS. Another study showed an increase in epicatechin 2 hours after administering 25g of chocolate chips containing 220 mg flavanols and procyanidins, with a concurrent increase in prostacyclin/leukotriene ratio and reduction in platelet-related hemostasis (Holt et al 2002).
This study is designed as a blinded, three arm crossover trial. The primary outcome measure is to compare plasma polyphenol levels after consumption of 3 chocolates (2 milk, 1 dark) while the secondary outcome measures are to characterise the time course of polyphenols in the blood and to investigate individual variation in Tmax and Cmax for use in future studies. All volunteers will try all chocolate types with a similar taste & appearance (though milk and dark are likely to still be distinguishable for the volunteer, not the investigator). Subjects will undergo medical screening, anthropometry, physical activity and dietary assessments before randomisation for the order of consumption. Bloods are to be taken as a time course for the next 24 hours, as is urine.
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
-
-
Vaud
-
Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, 1000
- Nestlé Research Center
-
-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Genders Eligible for Study
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- 19 - 45 years, male and female
- Healthy as determined by the medical questionnaire
- Normal weight: BMI 19 - 25
- Having given informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- Intestinal or metabolic diseases/disorders such as diabetic, renal, hepatic, hypertension, pancreatic or ulcer, including lacto-intolerance.
- Have had a major gastrointestinal surgery.
- Have a regular consumption of medication.
- Have an exceptionally high intake of chocolate or similarly high polyphenol foods.
- Have a high and regular intake of vitamin supplements
- Have an alcohol intake: > 2 units a day
- Patient who cannot be expected to comply with treatment.
- Smoker
- Having a nut allergy
- Unwilling to consume chocolate
- Currently participating or having participated in another clinical trial during the last 3 weeks.
- Having given blood in the past three weeks
- More than 3 x 45 min of exercise per week
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
- Allocation: RANDOMIZED
- Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
- Masking: SINGLE
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
|
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: 1
Dark chocolate
|
dark chocolate
|
|
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: 2
Milk chocolate 1
|
Milk chocolate 1
|
|
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: 3
Milk chocolate 2
|
Milk chocolate 2
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Time Frame |
|---|---|
|
AUC plasma polyphenols
Time Frame: 24 hours
|
24 hours
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Time Frame |
|---|---|
|
Tmax and Cmax of plasma polyphenols
Time Frame: 24 hours
|
24 hours
|
|
Plasma and urinary metabolite identification and quantification
Time Frame: 24 hours
|
24 hours
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Karen A Cooper, PhD, Nestle
- Study Director: Gary Williamson, PhD, Nestle
Publications and helpful links
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start
Primary Completion (ACTUAL)
Study Completion (ACTUAL)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (ESTIMATE)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Other Study ID Numbers
- 06.31.MET
This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.