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Figure 5 Acute and Sustained Effects of Flavanol-Containing Cocoa

For a detailed study protocol of the efficacy study refer to Figure 1B. At study entry (black), baseline values for flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were similar in both groups. In the treatment group (squares), FMD was significantly augmented over time. On top of sustained FMD increases (green), acute improvements (red) were observed at 2 h after ingestion of flavanol-containing cocoa. No significant changes could be observed in the control group (circles). Data are given as mean ± standard deviation. *Indicates significant differences in FMD compared with baseline differences within each group, p < 0.001; #Indicates significant differences in FMD between the control group and the treatment group, p < 0.05.