ReviewNutrients2016
Impact of Cocoa Consumption on Inflammation Processes-A Critical Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Nutrients, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Cocoa Flavanol Supplementation and Exercise: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Pooled it
- Effects of daily multivitamin-multimineral and cocoa extract supplementation on epigenetic aging clocks in the COSMOS randomized clinical trial.Nature medicine · 2026Trial
- Effects of 2-year cocoa extract supplementation on inflammaging biomarkers in older US adults: findings from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study randomised clinical trial.Age and ageing · 2025Trial
- Cocoa Consumption Decreases Oxidative Stress, Proinflammatory Mediators and Lipid Peroxidation in Healthy Subjects: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Dose-Response Clinical Trial.High blood pressure & cardiovascular prevention : the official journal of the Italian Society of Hypertension · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Changes in the mucosal immunity induced by diets enriched with cocoa and hesperidin in intensively trained and exhausted rats.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Ginkgo Biloba and Green Tea Polyphenols Captured into Collagen-Lipid Nanocarriers: A Promising Synergistically Approach for Apoptosis Activation and Tumoral Cell Cycle Arrest.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Novel Dietary Inflammatory Score and Risk of Incident CKD.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2025Article
- Preventive Role of Cocoa-Enriched Extract Against Neuroinflammation in Mice.Neurology international · 2025Article
- Influence of Diets Enriched with Flavonoids (Cocoa and Hesperidin) on the Systemic Immunity of Intensively Trained and Exhausted Rats.Biomolecules · 2022Article
- Article
- The effects of cocoa flavanols on indices of muscle recovery and exercise performance: a narrative review.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2021Review
- Article
- Chocolate Consumers and Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte Ratio: A Working Hypothesis from a Preliminary Report of a Pilot Study in Celiac Subjects.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Impact of Cocoa Products Intake on Plasma and Urine Metabolites: A Review of Targeted and Non-Targeted Studies in Humans.Nutrients · 2019Review
- Cardioprotection by Cocoa Polyphenols and ω-3 Fatty Acids: A Disease-Prevention Perspective on Aging-Associated Cardiovascular Risk.Journal of medicinal food · 2018Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCocoa flavanols have strong anti-inflammatory properties in vitro. If these also occur in vivo, cocoa consumption may contribute to the prevention or treatment of diseases mediated by chronic inflammation. This critical review judged the evidence for such effects occurring after cocoa consumption.
methodsA literature search in Medline was performed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of cocoa consumption on inflammatory biomarkers.
resultsThirty-three RCTs were included, along with 9 bolus and 24 regular consumption studies. Acute cocoa consumption decreased adhesion molecules and 4-series leukotrienes in serum, nuclear factor κB activation in leukocytes, and the expression of CD62P and CD11b on monocytes and neutrophils. In healthy subjects and in patients with cardiovascular diseases, most regular consumption trials did not find any changes except for a decreased number of endothelial microparticles, but several cellular and humoral inflammation markers decreased in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glucose.
conclusionsLittle evidence exists that consumption of cocoa-rich food may reduce inflammation, probably by lowering the activation of monocytes and neutrophils. The efficacy seems to depend on the extent of the basal inflammatory burden. Further well-designed RCTs with inflammation as the primary outcome are needed, focusing on specific markers of leukocyte activation and considering endothelial microparticles as marker of vascular inflammation.
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.