Acute Effects of Cocoa Flavanols on Blood Pressure and Peripheral Vascular Reactivity in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Essential Hypertension

A. Tanghe, E. Heyman, E. Lespagnol, J. Stautemas, B. Celie, Jos Op 't Roodt, E. Rietzschel, D.D. Soares, N. Hermans, E. Tuenter, S. Shadid, P. Calders*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a high risk of vascular complications. Interestingly, cocoa flavanols (CF) can exert beneficial vascular effects in non-diabetic subjects. However, these effects have only been scarcely studied in T2DM. Therefore, we performed a study to assess the effects on vascular reactivity of a single dose of CF (790 mg) in T2DM and whether certain antihypertensive drugs may modulate these effects. Methods: 24 non-diabetic and 11 T2DM subjects were studied in a cross-over design. Fasting blood samples, blood pressure (BP), and arterial vasoreactivity (flow-mediated dilation) were assessed before and 70 min after capsule ingestion. Muscle microvascular reactivity was only assessed after capsule ingestion. Age, waist-to-hip ratio, BP at baseline, and the use of antihypertensive drugs were regarded as covariates in a mixed models analysis. Results: CF ingestion did not affect any parameter. However, independent of the type of capsules ingested, a decrease in diastolic BP by 3 mmHg (95% CI: -4.0; -2.0) and an increase in the change in brachial artery diameter (pre vs. post occlusion) by 0.06 mm (95% CI: 0.01; 0.12) were detected in the non-diabetic group, while they remained unchanged in the T2DM group. Conclusion: No beneficial effects of CF were detected on vascular reactivity parameters in T2DM and non-diabetic participants.
Original languageEnglish
Article number2692
Number of pages16
JournalNutrients
Volume14
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2022

Keywords

  • type 2 diabetes
  • cocoa flavanols
  • vascular reactivity
  • blood pressure
  • antihypertensive drugs
  • FLOW-MEDIATED DILATION
  • DARK CHOCOLATE
  • ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION
  • DIETARY FLAVANOLS
  • HEALTH-BENEFITS
  • RICH COCOA
  • CONSUMPTION
  • EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • POLYPHENOL
  • ABSORPTION

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