ReviewNutrients2018
The Impact of Epicatechin on Human Cognition: The Role of Cerebral Blood Flow.
Review in Nutrients, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Concurrent consumption of cocoa flavanols and caffeine does not acutely modulate working memory and attention.European journal of nutrition · 2024Trial
- Catechins in insomnia-Alzheimer's disease comorbidity: A network pharmacology and molecular docking study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Beyond Taste: The Impact of Chocolate on Cardiovascular and Steatotic Liver Disease Risk Factors.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Stimulatory Effects of (+)-Epicatechin on Short- and Long-Term Memory in Aged Rats: Underlying Mechanisms.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Polyphenols and Exercise in Mitochondrial Biogenesis: Focus on Age-Related CNS Disorders.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- The effects of L-citrulline supplementation on cerebrovascular function during sprint interval training in taekwondo athletes.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- Green tea consumption rapidly enhances cognitive performance and flow state during mental tasks in healthy young adults.PloS one · 2025Article
- Anti-cancer Properties of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and its Signaling Pathways.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Preventive effect of Tyr-Pro, a blood-brain barrier transportable dipeptide, on memory impairment in SAMP8 mice.NPJ science of food · 2024Article
- Cacao Ameliorates Amyloid Beta-Induced Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Disturbances.Neuroscience insights · 2024Article
- Cacao consumption improves passive avoidance memory impairment in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease: the role of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and oxidative stress.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Dietary Polyphenols Decrease Chemokine Release by Human Primary Astrocytes Responding to Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines.Pharmaceutics · 2023Article
- Polyphenols and Their Impact on the Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Development.Nutrients · 2023Review
- The Potential of Flavonoids and Flavonoid Metabolites in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Pathology in Disorders of Cognitive Decline.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Dietary Flavonoids and Adult Neurogenesis: Potential Implications for Brain Aging.Current neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Natural flavonols: actions, mechanisms, and potential therapeutic utility for various diseases.Beni-Suef University journal of basic and applied sciences · 2023Review
- From Cocoa to Chocolate: Effect of Processing on Flavanols and Methylxanthines and Their Mechanisms of Action.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Extraction of Polyphenols and Vitamins Using Biodegradable ATPS Based on Ethyl Lactate.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Epicatechin is a monomeric flavanol found in food sources such as tea, apples, berries and cocoa. A number of large-scale epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between the consumption of these foods and cognitive function, as well as improved blood flow. The aim of this review is to summarise the evidence from intervention studies to clarify the effect of epicatechin on cognition and to consider the role of increased cerebral blood flow as a mechanism for any effects. The effects of epicatechin as consumed in cocoa are, therefore, reviewed here as this represents the only dietary source where it is purported to be the major active component. Our main findings are that a) the positive modulation of tasks that involve memory, executive function and processing speed in older adults; b) the cognitive benefits are more often shown in studies containing more than 50 mg epicatechin/day; and c) all studies with a duration of 28 days or longer in populations >50 years old demonstrate a cognitive improvement. However, as highlighted by this review, it is not currently possible to attribute effects solely to epicatechin without consideration of synergies. In order to overcome this issue, further studies examining the cognitive effects of epicatechin in isolation are required. The role of cerebral blood flow also requires further investigation through simultaneous measurement alongside cognitive function.
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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.