Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Chocolate procyanidins decrease the leukotriene-prostacyclin ratio in humans and human aortic endothelial cells.

D D Schramm1, J F Wang, R R Holt

  • 1Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis 95616-8669, USA. derek@ipworld.com

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|December 22, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The impact of micronutrient supplementation in alcohol-exposed pregnancies on reaction time responses of preschoolers in Ukraine.

Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)·2021
Same author

Implications of altered maternal cytokine concentrations on infant outcomes in children with prenatal alcohol exposure.

Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)·2018
Same author

Diets of Endurance Runners Competing in a 20-Day Road Race.

The Physician and sportsmedicine·2016
Same author

The impact of micronutrient supplementation in alcohol-exposed pregnancies on information processing skills in Ukrainian infants.

Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)·2015
Same author

Molecular distribution of zinc in biliary and pancreatic secretions.

Biological trace element research·2013
Same author

Superoxide dismutase isoenzymes in bovine and human milk.

Biological trace element research·2013
Same journal

High postprandial endotoxemia is associated with recurrence of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary heart disease: from the CORDIOPREV randomized clinical trial.

The American journal of clinical nutrition·2026
Same journal

Reply to Wu et al.: "Nitrate and nitrite food composition database: an update and extensive deep dive".

The American journal of clinical nutrition·2026
Same journal

Reframing Basic Experimental Studies in Humans-Implications for Nutrition Science.

The American journal of clinical nutrition·2026
Same journal

Inconvenient for the investigator but convenient for science: trial registration in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The American journal of clinical nutrition·2026
Same journal

Energy requirements revisited: why the factorial model still matters.

The American journal of clinical nutrition·2026
Same journal

Letter to the Editor: Temporal eating pattern classification should be separated from model attribution and reporting artifacts.

The American journal of clinical nutrition·2026
See all related articles

Cocoa procyanidins favorably alter eicosanoid synthesis in humans, increasing beneficial prostacyclin and decreasing harmful leukotrienes. This suggests a mechanism for how dietary flavonoids reduce platelet activation.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Science
  • Nutritional Biochemistry
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Polyphenolic phytochemicals, found in foods like cocoa, are known to inhibit vascular and inflammatory processes linked to disease.
  • These beneficial effects are thought to stem from polyphenol-induced changes in cellular eicosanoid synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine and compare the effects of cocoa procyanidins on eicosanoid synthesis in human subjects and human aortic endothelial cells.
  • To investigate the potential mechanism by which dietary flavonoids impact vascular health.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized, blinded, crossover study involving 10 healthy subjects consuming low- and high-procyanidin chocolate.
  • Plasma samples were collected pre- and post-consumption, with eicosanoids quantified via enzyme immunoassay.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Human aortic endothelial cells were treated in vitro with procyanidins to assess direct cellular effects.

    • Main Results:

    • High-procyanidin chocolate consumption significantly increased plasma prostacyclin (32%) and decreased plasma leukotrienes (29%) compared to low-procyanidin chocolate.
    • In vitro, procyanidin treatment of aortic endothelial cells resulted in increased synthesis of 6-keto-prostaglandin F(1alpha) and decreased leukotriene synthesis.
    • The ratio of leukotrienes to prostacyclin in culture medium decreased significantly both in vivo and in vitro.

    Conclusions:

    • Dietary flavonoids, such as those in cocoa, can beneficially alter eicosanoid synthesis in humans.
    • These findings support a mechanism by which flavonoids may reduce platelet activation and associated vascular and inflammatory diseases.
    • The study highlights the potential health benefits of procyanidin-rich foods.