Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Rationale
Cocoa and its major flavanol component, epicatechin, have therapeutic properties that may improve limb perfusion and increase calf muscle mitochondrial activity in people with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD).Objective
In a phase II randomized clinical trial, to assess whether 6 months of cocoa improved walking performance in people with PAD, compared with placebo.Methods and results
Six-month double-blind, randomized clinical trial in which participants with PAD were randomized to either cocoa beverage versus placebo beverage. The cocoa beverage contained 15 g of cocoa and 75 mg of epicatechin daily. The identical appearing placebo contained neither cocoa nor epicatechin. The 2 primary outcomes were 6-month change in 6-minute walk distance measured 2.5 hours after a study beverage at 6-month follow-up and 24 hours after a study beverage at 6-month follow-up, respectively. A 1-sided P<0.10 was considered statistically significant. Of 44 PAD participants randomized (mean age, 72.3 years [±7.1]; mean ankle brachial index, 0.66 [±0.15]), 40 (91%) completed follow-up. Adjusting for smoking, race, and body mass index, cocoa improved 6-minute walk distance at 6-month follow-up by 42.6 m ([90% CI, +22.2 to +∞] P=0.005) at 2.5 hours after a final study beverage and by 18.0 m ([90% CI, -1.7 to +∞] P=0.12) at 24 hours after a study beverage, compared with placebo. In calf muscle biopsies, cocoa improved mitochondrial COX (cytochrome c oxidase) activity (P=0.013), increased capillary density (P=0.014), improved calf muscle perfusion (P=0.098), and reduced central nuclei (P=0.033), compared with placebo.Conclusions
These preliminary results suggest a therapeutic effect of cocoa on walking performance in people with PAD. Further study is needed to definitively determine whether cocoa significantly improves walking performance in people with PAD.Clinical trial registration
URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02876887. Visual Overview: An online visual overview is available for this article.
SUBMITTER: McDermott MM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7141749 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
McDermott Mary M MM Criqui Michael H MH Domanchuk Kathryn K Ferrucci Luigi L Guralnik Jack M JM Kibbe Melina R MR Kosmac Kate K Kramer Christopher M CM Leeuwenburgh Christiaan C Li Lingyu L Lloyd-Jones Donald D Peterson Charlotte A CA Polonsky Tamar S TS Stein James H JH Sufit Robert R Van Horn Linda L Villarreal Francisco F Zhang Dongxue D Zhao Lihui L Tian Lu L
Circulation research 20200214 5
<h4>Rationale</h4>Cocoa and its major flavanol component, epicatechin, have therapeutic properties that may improve limb perfusion and increase calf muscle mitochondrial activity in people with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD).<h4>Objective</h4>In a phase II randomized clinical trial, to assess whether 6 months of cocoa improved walking performance in people with PAD, compared with placebo.<h4>Methods and results</h4>Six-month double-blind, randomized clinical trial in which parti ...[more]