Department of Physiological Nursing, Laboratory of Cardiovascular Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0610, USA. mary.engler@nursing.ucsf.edu
Cocoa and chocolate have recently been found to be rich plant-derived sources of antioxidant flavonoids with beneficial cardiovascular properties. These favorable physiological effects include: antioxidant activity, vasodilation and blood pressure reduction, inhibition of platelet activity, and decreased inflammation. Increasing evidence from experimental and clinical studies using cocoa-derived products and chocolate suggest an important role for these high-flavanol-containing foods in heart and vascular protection.