Ludovici Valeria, Barthelmes Jens, Nägele Matthias P, Enseleit Frank, Ferri Claudio, Flammer Andreas J, Ruschitzka Frank, Sudano Isabella
Cardiology, University Heart Center, University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
Front Nutr. 2017 Aug 2;4:36. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2017.00036. eCollection 2017.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents the most common cause of death worldwide. The consumption of natural polyphenol-rich foods, and cocoa in particular, has been related to a reduced risk of CVD, including coronary heart disease and stroke. Intervention studies strongly suggest that cocoa exerts a beneficial impact on cardiovascular health, through the reduction of blood pressure (BP), improvement of vascular function, modulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, and reduction of platelet aggregation. These potentially beneficial effects have been shown in healthy subjects as well as in patients with risk factors (arterial hypertension, diabetes, and smoking) or established CVD (coronary heart disease or heart failure). Several potential mechanisms are supposed to be responsible for the positive effect of cocoa; among them activation of nitric oxide (NO) synthase, increased bioavailability of NO as well as antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. It is the aim of this review to summarize the findings of cocoa and chocolate on BP and vascular function.
心血管疾病（CVD）是全球最常见的死因。食用富含天然多酚的食物，尤其是可可，与降低心血管疾病风险有关，包括冠心病和中风。干预研究强烈表明，可可通过降低血压（BP）、改善血管功能、调节脂质和葡萄糖代谢以及减少血小板聚集，对心血管健康产生有益影响。这些潜在的有益作用已在健康受试者以及有风险因素（动脉高血压、糖尿病和吸烟）或已确诊心血管疾病（冠心病或心力衰竭）的患者中得到证实。几种潜在机制被认为是可可产生积极作用的原因；其中包括一氧化氮（NO）合酶的激活、NO生物利用度的增加以及抗氧化和抗炎特性。本综述的目的是总结可可和巧克力对血压和血管功能的研究结果。
