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 30 August 2008 16:24 BST

Cocoa extract 'targets big four'

Monday, 12 Mar 2007 14:19
Could cocoa help to target major health problems?

Health In Focus 

Epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, could target four of the major health problems, it has been claimed today.

New research argues that the nutrient helps to target the risk of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes.

Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, studied the Kuna people in Panama, who drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week.

He found that they have a ten per cent reduction in the risk of the 'big four'.

"If these observations predict the future, then we can say without blushing that they are among the most important observations in the history of medicine," Professor Hollenberg said in the journal Chemistry & Industry.

"We all agree that penicillin and anaesthesia are enormously important. But epicatechin could potentially get rid of four of the five most common diseases in the western world. How important does that make epicatechin? I would say very important."

Epicatechin is also found in some fruits and vegetables, teas, wine and chocolate.

Daniel Fabricant, vice president of scientific affairs at the Natural Products Association, said that although the study was observational, it could lead to a rethink of how vitamins are defined.

"The link between high epicatechin consumption and a decreased risk of killer disease is so striking, it should be investigated further," he said. "It may be that these diseases are the result of epicatechin deficiency."

Commenting on the study, Ellen Mason, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This is an interesting observation of a unique culture. We cannot conclude that drinking cocoa caused a reduction in heart attacks and stroke.

"British culture is very different to that of the Kuna people and we do not advise that people in the UK take up drinking cocoa in high quantities in order to protect their hearts."
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