Trial reportAge (Dordrecht, Netherlands)2015
Impact of cocoa flavanol intake on age-dependent vascular stiffness in healthy men: a randomized, controlled, double-masked trial.
Trial report in Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01639781 (Age-dependent Effects of Flavanol Metabolism and Absorption on Vascular Status After Acute and Chronic Application.), which is not on this map. Cited by 63 papers, 2 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.
Age-dependent Effects of Flavanol Metabolism and Absorption on Vascular Status After Acute and Chronic Application.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The role of cocoa flavanols in modulating peripheral and cerebral microvascular function in healthy individuals and populations at-risk of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review.Nutrition journal · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of cocoa on blood pressure.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Acute cocoa ingestion decreases spontaneous cardiac baroreflex sensitivity in healthy older adults.American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2026Trial
- Dietary flavanols preserve upper- and lower-limb endothelial function during sitting in high- and low-fit young healthy males.The Journal of physiology · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Cocoa Flavanols Improve Vascular Responses to Acute Mental Stress in Young Healthy Adults.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Dietary flavanols improve cerebral cortical oxygenation and cognition in healthy adults.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Assessing the respective contributions of dietary flavanol monomers and procyanidins in mediating cardiovascular effects in humans: randomized, controlled, double-masked intervention trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2018Trial
- Habitual cocoa intake reduces arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women regardless of intake frequency: a randomized parallel-group study.Clinical interventions in aging · 2016Trial
- Cocoa flavanol intake improves endothelial function and Framingham Risk Score in healthy men and women: a randomised, controlled, double-masked trial: the Flaviola Health Study.The British journal of nutrition · 2015Trial
- Dietary polyphenols in atherosclerosis: a review of molecular mechanisms, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and vascular inflammation.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Associations Between Chocolate Consumption and Cardiometabolic Risk Markers Across Metabolic Profiles: Insights from a Population-Based Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Impact of cocoa flavanols on blood pressure and vascular function: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Effects of Nutritional Supplements on Vascular Function: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Cocoa shell extract supplementation in hypertensive rats induces outward hypertrophic remodelling in mesenteric resistance arteries, reducing fibrosis.Experimental physiology · 2025Article
- Acute effect of dark chocolate intake before high-intensity resistance exercise on arterial stiffness in healthy young men.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- Revisiting Spectrophotometric Methods in the FoodOmics Era: The Influence of Phytochemicals in the Quantification of Soluble Sugars in Plant-Based Beverages, Drinks, and Extracts.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Association between Food Groups, Nutraceuticals, and Food Supplements Consumption on Vascular Health Outcomes: A Literature Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Beneficial Effects of Cocoa Flavanols on Microvascular Responses in Young Men May Be Dependent on Ethnicity and Lifestyle.Nutrients · 2024Article
3 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
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Increased vascular stiffness, endothelial dysfunction, and isolated systolic hypertension are hallmarks of vascular aging. Regular cocoa flavanol (CF) intake can improve vascular function in healthy young and elderly at-risk individuals. However, the mechanisms underlying CF bioactivity remain largely unknown. We investigated the effects of CF intake on cardiovascular function in healthy young and elderly individuals without history, signs, or symptoms of cardiovascular disease by applying particular focus on functional endpoints relevant to cardiovascular aging. In a randomized, controlled, double-masked, parallel-group dietary intervention trial, 22 young (<35 years) and 20 elderly (50-80 year) healthy, male non-smokers consumed either a CF-containing drink (450 mg CF) or nutrient-matched, CF-free control drink bi-daily for 14 days. The primary endpoint was endothelial function as measured by flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD). Secondary endpoints included cardiac output, vascular stiffness, conductance of conduit and resistance arteries, and perfusion in the microcirculation. Following 2 weeks of CF intake, FMD improved in young (6.1 ± 0.7 vs. 7.6 ± 0.7 %, p < 0.001) and elderly (4.9 ± 0.6 vs. 6.3 ± 0.9 %, p < 0.001). Secondary outcomes demonstrated in both groups that CF intake decreased pulse wave velocity and lowered total peripheral resistance, and increased arteriolar and microvascular vasodilator capacity, red cell deformability, and diastolic blood pressure, while cardiac output remained affected. In the elderly, baseline systolic blood pressure was elevated, driven by an arterial-stiffness-related augmentation. CF intake decreased aortic augmentation index (-9 %) and thus systolic blood pressure (-7 mmHg; Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01639781). CF intake reverses age-related burden of cardiovascular risk in healthy elderly, highlighting the potential of dietary flavanols to maintain cardiovascular health.
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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.