Effects of Dark Chocolate on the Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases

February 3, 2026 updated by: San Diego State University
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death in the US. Epidemiologic evidence supports that antioxidant-rich diets promote health and attenuate or delay the onset of CVD. Cocoa and chocolate products have among the highest antioxidant concentrations compared to other antioxidant food sources. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of regular dark chocolate, bloomed dark chocolate, and white chocolate on cardiovascular health markers.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

45

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • San Diego, California, United States, 92182
        • San Diego State University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Generally healthy subjects

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Smoker
  • Pregnant woman
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Required dietary supplement use
  • Required medication of metabolic disorders
  • Allergy to cacao

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: White chocolate
Subjects consume 50g of white chocolate daily for 15 days.
Other: White chocolate
To determine the effects of white chocolate consumption on risk factors of cardiovascular diseases
Experimental: Dark chocolate
Subjects consume 50g of dark chocolate daily for 15 days.
Other: Dark chocolate
To determine the effects of dark chocolate consumption on risk factors of cardiovascular diseases

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change of systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 15
Change of systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be determined to examine effects of dark chocolate consumption vs white chocolate.
Baseline and Day 15
Change of skin blood flow level
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 15
Change of skin blood flow level will be determined using Laser Doppler Flowmetry to examine effects of dark chocolate consumption vs white chocolate. Laser Doppler flowmetry is an optical technology widely used in research to measure blood flow. It is a non-invasive, painless technique for studying microcirculatory changes in tissue.
Baseline and Day 15
Change of HDL cholesterol level
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 15
Change of blood cholesterol level will be determined to examine effects of dark chocolate consumption vs white chocolate.
Baseline and Day 15
Change of antioxidant levels
Time Frame: Baseline and Day 15
Change of antioxidant levels will be determined to examine effects of dark chocolate consumption vs white chocolate.
Baseline and Day 15

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

San Diego State University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 28, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 5, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 3, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 658065

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data collected in this study are used exclusively within the primary research group and will not be shared with other external researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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.

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