A team of researchers from the University of California, Davis, the Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf, Germany, and Harvard Medical School has pinpointed a chemical compound that is, in part, responsible for the heart-healthy benefits of certain cocoas and some chocolate products.

The study showed that epicatechin, one of a group of chemicals known as flavanols, was directly linked to improved circulation and other hallmarks of cardiovascular health.

"Although previous studies strongly indicated that some flavanol-rich foods, such as wine, tea and cocoa can offer cardiovascular health benefits, we have been able to demonstrate a direct relationship between the intake of certain flavanols present in cocoa, their absorption into the circulation and their effects on cardiovascular function in humans," said UC Davis biochemist Hagen Schroeter, who co-authored the paper along with cardiologist Christian Heiss of the Heinrich-Heine University.

"The results of this study provide direct proof that epicatechin is, at least in part, responsible for the beneficial vascular effects that are observed after the consumption of certain flavanol-rich cocoas," Schroeter added.

Key to the study were volunteers from the Kuna Indians, who live on the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama. High blood pressure and other signs of cardiovascular disease are rare among the island-dwelling Kuna, who are also known to consume large amounts of flavanol-rich cocoa, three to four cups per day.

Previous studies carried out by a research team at Harvard Medical School have found that Kuna who have migrated to the suburbs of Panama City on the mainland consume only about four cups of cocoa per week and, interestingly, do not enjoy the same level of cardiovascular health.

Through analyses of urine samples from members of both the island-dwelling and mainland Kuna, the researchers found that, compared to their mainland counterparts, the urine of island dwellers had more than twice the levels of urinary nitric oxide, a chemical compound already known to be associated with healthy flow of blood through the arteries.

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