Acute Consumption of Flavanol-Rich Cocoa and the Reversal of Endothelial Dysfunction in Smokers
Christian Heiss, MD, PhD*, ,
Petra Kleinbongard, PhD,
Andrè Dejam, MD, PhD,
Sandra Perré, MS,
Hagen Schroeter, PhD ,
Helmut Sies, MD, PhD* and
Malte Kelm, MD,*
* Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I
Division of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Vascular Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California
View larger version (16K):
[in a new window]
|
Figure 1 Dose-finding. Flavanol-rich cocoa dose-dependently increased the circulating nitric oxide (NO) pool (RXNO) (A) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) (B) at 2 h (filled circles). RXNO and FMD did not significantly change after water control (C, open circles). Data represent means ± SE. (n = 4 smokers) *p < 0.05.
|
|
View larger version (25K):
[in a new window]
|
Figure 2 Restoration of circulating nitric oxide (NO) pool by flavanol-rich cocoa drink. Randomized double-blind crossover design, ingestion of 100 ml flavanol-rich cocoa drink (176 to 185 mg flavanols) increased (A) circulating NO pool (plasma RXNO) and (B) flow-mediated dilation after 2 h (n = 11 smokers). Ingestion of the matched control drink had no significant effect on both parameters (C, D). Filled circles = individual values; open circles = means ± SE. *p < 0.05.
|
|
View larger version (35K):
[in a new window]
|
Figure 3 Effects of L-NMMA and vitamin C on cocoa effects. Both flow-mediated dilation (FMD) (A and C) and the circulating NO pool in plasma (RXNO) (B and D) increased 2 h after ingestion of cocoa containing 176 to 185 mg of flavanols. Whereas L-NMMA (A and B) reversed both parameters below baseline values, ascorbic acid (2 g, C and D) did not cause a further increase when given after measurements at the 2-h time point. Significance levels corrected for 8 pairwise comparisons in RXNO and FMD. Columns represent means ± SE (n = 4 smokers).
|
|
|
