Cocoa flavanols improve the speed of memory tasks, according to a study led by the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC).
Dietary cocoa flavanols-naturally occurring bioactives found in cocoa-reversed age-related memory decline in healthy older adults. The study, published in the advance online issue of Nature Neuroscience, provides the first direct evidence that one component of age-related memory decline in humans is caused by changes in a specific region of the brain and that this form of memory decline can be improved by a dietary intervention.
Memory decline is almost seen as a typical characteristic of aging. But a new study published in Nature Neuroscience suggests it may not have to be; researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY, say that naturally occurring flavanols present in cocoa reversed age-related memory decline in older adults.
According to the research team, including senior author Dr. Scott Small, memory decline starts in early adulthood, although it does not become highly noticeable until we reach our 50s or 60s - when it becomes known as age-related memory decline.
Past studies have suggested that this form of memory decline may stem from changes in the function of a brain region known as the dentate gyrus, but proving the association to be causal has been a challenge for researchers.
Flavanols found in cocoa beans have been linked to improvements in brain connections in the dentate gyrus of mice. As such, Dr. Small and colleagues wanted to see whether these flavanols would boost the function of the dentate gyrus in humans and improve memory.
It's important to note that the specially formulated cocoa-based drink high in flavanols made older people slightly faster, but not more accurate, in memory tests. Thus, the research is valuable from the perspective of gaining a better understanding of aging and brain function, but hasn't been shown to be a treatment for cognitive decline. Moreover, the research was only done with 37 healthy people over a short period of time. Larger, longer studies that include patients with dementia need to be done before claims on reversing age-related and/or disease-related memory can be made.
Mars, Incorporated, is very focused on cocoa flavanols. In July, we wrote about a new study sponsored in part by Mars Inc. to see if pills containing the nutrients in dark chocolate (flavanols) can help prevent heart attacks and strokes. Mars is funding these studies to generate data to support flavanol's use as a bioactive molecul
The brain imaging measured blood volume in the dentate gyrus, a measure of metabolism, and the memory test involved a 20-minute pattern-recognition exercise designed to evaluate a type of memory controlled by the dentate gyrus.
"When we imaged our research subjects' brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink," said Dr Adam Brickman of the Columbia University's Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, who is the first author of a paper published in the journalNature Neuroscience .
The high-flavanol group also performed significantly better on the memory test.
"If a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months that person on average had the memory of a typical 30- or 40-year-old," Dr Small said.
"The findings need to be replicated in a larger study," he added.
The scientists point out that the product used in the study - a cocoa flavanol-containing test drink prepared specifically for research purposes by the food company Mars Inc. - is not the same as chocolate, and they caution against an increase in chocolate consumption in an attempt to gain this effect.
Source
Brickman et a. Enhancing dentate gyrus function with dietary flavanols improves cognition in older adults. Nat Neurosci.