ReviewBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2013
The neuroprotective effects of cocoa flavanol and its influence on cognitive performance.
Review in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 237 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuroprotective Effects of Epicatechin against Oxidative Stress-Induced Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2025Pooled it
- Association of 15 common dietary factors with tinnitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Potential neuroprotective effects of fermented foods and beverages in old age: a systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of Cocoa-Derived Polyphenols on Cognitive Function in Humans. Systematic Review and Analysis of Methodological Aspects.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- The influence of different concentrations of flavanol chocolate bars under acute supplement conditions on exercise and performance.European journal of applied physiology · 2020Trial
- The effect of acute cocoa flavanol intake on the BOLD response and cognitive function in type 1 diabetes: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded cross-over pilot study.Psychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- Sub-Chronic Consumption of Dark Chocolate Enhances Cognitive Function and Releases Nerve Growth Factors: A Parallel-Group Randomized Trial.Nutrients · 2019Trial
- The effect of flavanol-rich cocoa on cerebral perfusion in healthy older adults during conscious resting state: a placebo controlled, crossover, acute trial.Psychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Untargeted metabolomics and proteomics reveals cocoa-mediated mitigation of valproic acid-induced dysregulation in a zebrafish model of autism: pilot study.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2026Article
- Adult Neurogenesis in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Mechanisms of Dysregulation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Beyond Taste: The Impact of Chocolate on Cardiovascular and Steatotic Liver Disease Risk Factors.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Targeting PKC/NF-κB/NLRP3-driven NcRNA neuroinflammatory crosstalk by condensed tannins in global cerebral ischemia.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Catechins in stroke: multi-target mechanisms, preclinical evidence, and translational challenges.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Cocoa polyphenols in brain health: BDNF/CREB-mediated mechanisms in depression, cognition, and the gut-brain axis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Stimulatory Effects of (+)-Epicatechin on Short- and Long-Term Memory in Aged Rats: Underlying Mechanisms.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Development of a Plant-Based Chocolate Spread With Enhanced Vitamin D3 Bioavailability and Balanced Omega Fatty Acids.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Modulation of microbiota, inflammation, iron status and gene expression of affected receptors in Parkinson's disease rat model by synbiotic and dark chocolate.Scientific reports · 2025Article
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cocoa powder and chocolate contain numerous substances among which there is a quite large percentage of antioxidant molecules, mainly flavonoids, most abundantly found in the form of epicatechin. These substances display several beneficial actions on the brain. They enter the brain and induce widespread stimulation of brain perfusion. They also provoke angiogenesis, neurogenesis and changes in neuron morphology, mainly in regions involved in learning and memory. Epicatechin improves various aspects of cognition in animals and humans. Chocolate also induces positive effects on mood and is often consumed under emotional stress. In addition, flavonoids preserve cognitive abilities during ageing in rats, lower the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease and decrease the risk of stroke in humans. In addition to their beneficial effects on the vascular system and on cerebral blood flow, flavonoids interact with signalization cascades involving protein and lipid kinases that lead to the inhibition of neuronal death by apoptosis induced by neurotoxicants such as oxygen radicals, and promote neuronal survival and synaptic plasticity. The present review intends to review the data available on the effects of cocoa and chocolate on brain health and cognitive abilities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.