Trial reportPsychopharmacology2025
A single intake of flavanol-rich cocoa improves inhibitory executive process under cognitive fatigue during aerobic exercise in men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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7 authors.
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Abstract
rationaleAlthough cognitive fatigue commonly occurs during sports, effective strategies to improve it during exercise have not been established.
objectivesThis study determined whether high-cocoa flavanol (HCF) consumption improves reaction time and inhibitory executive function impairments during prolonged cognitive load combined with aerobic exercise.
methodsIn this randomized crossover study, 18 healthy males (22 ± 2 years) participated in both low-cocoa flavanol (LCF) and HCF trials. Double-blinded capsules (LCF 50 mg and HCF 500 mg) were consumed 1 h before a 50-min cognitive exercise dual-tasking protocol, which included a color-word Stroop task (CWST) and moderate-intensity cycling. The CWST assessed reaction time and reverse-Stroop interference score as indicators of inhibitory executive process.
resultsReaction time (LCF 774 ± 146 ms vs. HCF 731 ± 101 ms, P < 0.01) and reverse-Stroop interference score (LCF 6.2 [3.2-15.5] vs. HCF 4.6 [1.2-11.4], P < 0.01) were significantly better 1 h after HCF consumption than after LCF consumption, indicating that HCF improved both reaction time and the inhibitory executive process at rest. During the 50-min cognitive-exercise dual-tasking protocol, HCF consumption resulted in faster reaction time (LCF 712 ± 122 ms vs. HCF 685 ± 111 ms, P < 0.05) and better inhibitory executive process (LCF 8.4 ± 5.0 vs. HCF 6.6 ± 3.5, P < 0.05) compared to those following LCF consumption.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that flavanol-rich cocoa may improve reaction time and inhibitory executive process impaired by cognitive fatigue during aerobic exercise.
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