Cocoa 'vitamin' health benefits could outshine penicillin

[abdulhakeem]

11-Mar-2007

The health benefits of epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, are so striking that it may rival penicillin and anaesthesia in terms of importance to public health, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told C&I that epicatechin is so important that it should be considered a vitamin.

Hollenberg has spent years studying the benefits of cocoa drinking on the Kuna people in Panama. He found that the risk of 4 of the 5 most common killer diseases: stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes, is reduced to less then 10% in the Kuna. They can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week. Natural cocoa has high levels of epicatechin.

'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,' Hollenberg says. ‘We all agree that penicillin and anaesthesia are enormously important. But epicatechin could potentially get rid of 4 of the 5 most common diseases in the western world, how important does that make epicatechin?... I would say very important’

Nutrition expert Daniel Fabricant says that Hollenberg’s results, although observational, are so impressive that they may even warrant a rethink of how vitamins are defined. Epicatechin does not currently meet the criteria. Vitamins are defined as essential to the normal functioning, metabolism, regulation and growth of cells and deficiency is usually linked to disease.

At the moment, the science does not support epicatechin having an essential role. But, Fabricant, who is vice president scientific affairs at the Natural Products Association, says: 'the link between high epicatechin consumption and a decreased risk of killer disease is so striking, it should be investigated further. It may be that these diseases are the result of epicatechin deficiency,' he says.

Currently, there are only 13 essential vitamins. An increase in the number of vitamins would provide significant opportunity for nutritional companies to expand their range of products. Flavanols like epicatechin are removed for commercial cocoas because they tend to have a bitter taste. So there is huge scope for nutritional companies to develop epicatechin supplements or capsules

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



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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/soci-ch030707.php

[abdulhakeem]

Cocoa nutrient for 'lethal ills'

Sunday, 11 March 2007
By Michelle Roberts
BBC News health reporter

A nutrient in cocoa called epicatechin appears to lower the risk of four common killer diseases, work suggests.

Among the Kuna people of Panama, who can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa per week, rates of stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes are less than 10%.

The Kuna also appear to live longer than other Panama inhabitants and do not get dementia, a US scientist reports in Chemistry and Industry.

Experts stressed that genes and other lifestyle factors also play a part.

However, researcher Dr Norman Hollenberg, of Harvard Medical School, says the cocoa chemical would benefit other populations too, including the Western world, although he concedes there may be ethnic differences.

And he acknowledges his studies are based on observations, so cannot provide cast iron proof.

The Kuna people

He has been investigating the effects of epicatechin in hundreds of elderly people from different cultures as well as hundreds of Kuna people over the last 15 years.

"My interest began with the fact that Kuna people do not develop high blood pressure," he explained.

"I was in search of protective genes but it turned out to be environmental because, when they migrated to the mainland with all the benefits of modern Western urban life, their blood pressure rose with age and hypertension became quite common."

And death rates from ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus and cancer followed suit, his published work in the International Journal of Medical Sciences showed.

Dr Hollenberg believes the Kuna's local tipple is the key.

"For most Kuna people, it is the only thing they drink from when they are weaned to the day they die."

He says his findings are so significant that epicatechin should be considered essential in the diet and, therefore, classed as a vitamin.

'Essential vitamin'

At the moment, the science does not support epicatechin having an essential role, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest it could have a protective effect in the body.

Epicatechin, a type of flavonoid, is also found in teas, wine, chocolate and some fruit and vegetables.

One of its actions is thought to be through elevating levels of nitric oxide in the blood, which helps relax the blood vessels and improves blood flow.

And its antioxidant properties could explain how it might stop cancers.

Nutrition expert Daniel Fabricant, vice president of scientific affairs at the Natural Products Association, said the link between high epicatechin consumption and a decreased risk of lethal diseases should be investigated further.

"It may be that these diseases are the result of epicatechin deficiency," he suggested.

Flavanols like epicatechin are removed for commercial cocoas because they tend to have a bitter taste.

Experts have also questioned whether it would be advisable and feasible to eat large enough quantities of epicatechin-containing foods such as wine and chocolate.

Dr Hollenberg, who is a scientific advisor to several big pharmaceutical companies and has received financial backing for his research from the M&M/Mars Company, believes there is scope for nutritional companies to develop epicatechin supplements, such as chocolate bars.

Indeed, Mars puts its Cocoapro logo on confectionery packaging to signify products that have undergone its proprietary method for processing cocoa beans to preserve flavonoid.

Paul Kroon of the Institute of Food Research said drug companies might want to design new drugs to mimic epicatechin's structure and actions.

"But it's early days. And there is a danger with taking a reductionist approach and trying to single out one particular chemical in foods. Often its the mixture that is important," he said.

Ellen Mason, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This is an interesting observation of a unique culture." But she added: "We do not advise that people in the UK take up drinking cocoa in high quantities in order to protect their hearts."

COCOA

The cacao tree was first cultivated in 250-900 AD by the ancient Maya civilization in what is now Mexico and Central America
The Maya offered the beans to their Gods, used them currency and for medicinal purposes to fight fatigue and gastrointestinal distress
A typical fruit pod of the tree contains approximately 25 to 75 cocoa beanshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6430777.stm