Division of Pharmacology, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linko¨ping University, Linköping, Sweden.
J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2011 Jan;57(1):44-50. doi: 10.1097/FJC.0b013e3181fe62e3.
Evidence suggests that cocoa from the bean of Theobroma cacao L. has beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate if cocoa extract and dark chocolate influence angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and nitric oxide (NO) in human endothelial cells (in vitro) and in healthy volunteers (in vivo). ACE activity was analyzed with a commercial radioenzymatic assay and measured in human endothelial cells from umbilical veins (HUVEC) after 10 minutes of incubation with cocoa extract. NO was measured after 24 hours of incubation. ACE activity and NO were measured at baseline and after 30, 60, and 180 minutes in 16 healthy volunteers after a single intake of 75 g of dark chocolate containing 72% cocoa. Significant inhibition of ACE activity (P < 0.01) and significant increase of NO (P < 0.001) were seen in HUVEC. In the study subjects, a significant inhibition of ACE activity (mean 18%) 3 hours after intake of dark chocolate was seen, but no significant change in NO was seen. According to ACE genotype, significant inhibition of ACE activity was seen after 3 hours in individuals with genotype insertion/insertion and deletion/deletion (mean 21% and 28%, respectively). Data suggest that intake of dark chocolate containing high amount of cocoa inhibits ACE activity in vitro and in vivo.
有证据表明，可可豆（Theobroma cacao L.）制成的可可具有对心血管疾病有益的作用。本研究旨在探讨可可提取物和黑巧克力是否会影响人类内皮细胞（体外）和健康志愿者（体内）中的血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）和一氧化氮（NO）。ACE 活性通过商业放射酶测定法进行分析，并在与可可提取物孵育 10 分钟后，测量脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVEC）中的 ACE 活性。孵育 24 小时后测量 NO。在 16 名健康志愿者中，在单次摄入含有 72%可可的 75 克黑巧克力后，在基线和 30、60 和 180 分钟测量 ACE 活性和 NO。在 HUVEC 中观察到 ACE 活性的显著抑制（P<0.01）和 NO 的显著增加（P<0.001）。在研究对象中，在摄入黑巧克力 3 小时后，观察到 ACE 活性的显著抑制（平均 18%），但 NO 没有明显变化。根据 ACE 基因型，在插入/插入和缺失/缺失基因型的个体中，在摄入黑巧克力 3 小时后观察到 ACE 活性的显著抑制（分别为 21%和 28%）。数据表明，摄入含有大量可可的黑巧克力可抑制体外和体内的 ACE 活性。
