Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37224109›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2023

Chocolate intake and muscle pain sensation: A randomized experimental study.

Alexandra Hajati, Mario Brondani, Lina Angerstig, Victoria Klein, Linda Liljeblad, Essam Ahmed Al-Moraissi, Sofia Louca Jounger, Bruna Brondani, Nikolaos Christidis

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05378984 (Cocoa Intake and Muscle Pain Sensation), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT05378984 nacompletednot on this map

Cocoa Intake and Muscle Pain Sensation: an Experimental Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorKarolinska InstitutetRan2020 to 2020Enrolled30ConditionsMuscle PainArmsbefore - hypertonic saline 5%, after - hypertonic saline 5%
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Alexandra HajatiDivision of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences, Huddinge, Sweden.
Mario BrondaniDivision of Dental Public Health, Department of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Lina AngerstigDivision of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences, Huddinge, Sweden.
Victoria KleinDivision of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-9351-1517
Linda LiljebladDivision of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-3533-3046
Essam Ahmed Al-MoraissiDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Thamar University, Thamar, Yemen.
Sofia Louca JoungerDivision of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences, Huddinge, Sweden.
Bruna BrondaniDivision of Dental Public Health, Department of Oral Health Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Nikolaos ChristidisDivision of Oral Diagnostics and Rehabilitation, Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and Scandinavian Center for Orofacial Neurosciences, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-8199-7863
Karolinska Institutet · SEUniversity of British Columbia · CAThamar University · YE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChocolate, as a cocoa-derived product rich in flavanols, has been used for medical and anti-inflammatory purposes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if the ingestion of different percentages of cocoa products affects the experimentally induced pain caused by intramuscular hypertonic saline injections in the masseter muscle of healthy men and women.

methodsThis experimental randomized, double-blind, and controlled study included 15 young, healthy, and pain-free men and 15 age-matched women and involved three visits with at least a 1-week washout. Pain was induced twice at each visit with intramuscular injections of 0.2 mL hypertonic saline (5%), before and after intake of one of the different chocolate types: white (30% cocoa content), milk (34% cocoa content), and dark (70% cocoa content). Pain duration, pain area, peak pain, and pressure pain threshold (PPT) were assessed every fifth minute after each injection, up until 30 min after the initial injection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using IBM® SPSS (Version 27); significance level was set to p<0.05.

resultsThis study showed that intake of chocolate, no matter the type, reduced the induced pain intensity significantly more than no intake of chocolate (p<0.05, Tukey test). There were no differences between the chocolate types. Further, men showed a significantly greater pain reduction than women after intake of white chocolate (p<0.05, Tukey test). No other differences between pain characteristics or sexes were revealed.

conclusionIntake of chocolate before a painful stimulus had a pain-reducing effect no matter the cocoa concentration. The results indicate that perhaps it is not the cocoa concentration (e.g., flavanols) alone that explains the positive effect on pain, but likely a combination of preference and taste-experience. Another possible explanation could be the composition of the chocolate, i.e. the concentration of the other ingredients such as sugar, soy, and vanilla. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05378984.

Indexed as

CacaoChocolateFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornMaleMusclesMyalgiaPain PerceptionSensation

Identifiers

PMID37224109
PMCPMC10208501
OpenAlexW4378070707

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.