Trial reportNutrients2013
The effects of acute post exercise consumption of two cocoa-based beverages with varying flavanol content on indices of muscle recovery following downhill treadmill running.
Trial report in Nutrients, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 4 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Cocoa Flavanol Supplementation and Exercise: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Pooled it
- Antioxidants for preventing and reducing muscle soreness after exercise.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Blackcurrant Supplementation and Habitual Physical Activity Enhance Functional Capacity and Quality of Life in Previously Sedentary Older Women.Current aging science · 2024Trial
- Cocoa-flavanols enhance moderate-intensity pulmonaryEuropean journal of applied physiology · 2021Trial
- Broad Spectrum Polyphenol Supplementation from Tart Cherry Extract on Markers of Recovery from Intense Resistance Exercise.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Trial
- Acute Effects of Hesperidin in Oxidant/Antioxidant State Markers and Performance in Amateur Cyclists.Nutrients · 2019Trial
- No Effect of Tart Cherry Juice or Pomegranate Juice on Recovery from Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Non-Resistance Trained Men.Nutrients · 2019Trial
- Acute cocoa Flavanols intake has minimal effects on exercise-induced oxidative stress and nitric oxide production in healthy cyclists: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2017Trial
- Systemic Integrative Mechanisms and Intervention Strategies in Exercise-Induced Skeletal Muscle Damage: Evidence from Animal, Clinical, and Multi-Omics Studies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Changes in the mucosal immunity induced by diets enriched with cocoa and hesperidin in intensively trained and exhausted rats.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Revitalizing Muscle Regeneration: Cocoa Polyphenols Shield Mitochondrial Integrity and Boost Myogenesis Under Oxidative Stress.Microscopy research and technique · 2025Article
- Review
- The Use of Some Polyphenols in the Modulation of Muscle Damage and Inflammation Induced by Physical Exercise: A Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The effects of cocoa flavanols on indices of muscle recovery and exercise performance: a narrative review.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2021Review
- Nutritional interventions for reducing the signs and symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage and accelerate recovery in athletes: current knowledge, practical application and future perspectives.European journal of applied physiology · 2020Review
- Antioxidant supplements and endurance exercise: Current evidence and mechanistic insights.Redox biology · 2020Review
- Review
- Fruit-Derived Polyphenol Supplementation for Athlete Recovery and Performance.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dietary flavanols have been associated with reduced oxidative stress, however their efficacy in promoting recovery after exercise induced muscle damage is unclear. This study examined the effectiveness of acute consumption of cocoa-flavanols on indices of muscle recovery including: subsequent exercise performance, creatine kinase, muscle tenderness, force, and self-perceived muscle soreness. Eight endurance-trained athletes (VO2max 64.4±7.6 mL/kg/min) completed a downhill running protocol to induce muscle soreness, and 48-h later completed a 5-K (kilometer) time trial. Muscle recovery measurements were taken at PRE, 24 h-POST, 48 h-POST, and POST-5K. Participants consumed 1.0 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight of a randomly assigned beverage (CHOC: 0 mg flavanols vs. CocoaCHOC: 350 mg flavanols per serving) immediately after the downhill run and again 2 h later. The same protocol was repeated three weeks later with the other beverage. An ANOVA revealed no significant difference (p=0.97) between trials for 5 K completion time (CHOC 1198.3±160.6 s, CocoaCHOC 1195.5±148.8 s). No significant difference was found for creatine kinase (CK) levels (p=0.31), or muscle soreness (p=0.21) between groups over time. These findings suggest that the acute addition of cocoa flavanols to low-fat chocolate milk offer no additional recovery benefits.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.