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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents
Published on: January 10, 2014
Effects of cocoa-enriched diet on orofacial pain in a murine model
L N Bowden1, E L Rohrs2, K Omoto3
1Department of Orthodontics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Objectives:
To investigate and discuss the effects of cocoa on orofacial pain.
Setting And Sample Population:
The Department of Orthodontics at the University of Florida (UF). Male and female hairless rats (N=20/group) were tested.
Materials And Methods:
Rats were tested using the Orofacial Pain Assessment Device (OPAD) before and after changing their food from the standard chow to a cocoa-enriched or control-equivalent diet.
Results:
Male rats fed the cocoa diet had a significantly higher operant pain index when tested at 37°C as compared to control diet-fed animals. Female rats on the cocoa diet had a significantly higher pain index when tested at 18°C and 44°C, as compared to animals fed the control diet. Capsaicin-induced pain was inhibited, with cocoa-diet male rats having a significantly higher pain index than control-diet male rats and cocoa-diet female rats at both 37°C and 44°C. Cocoa-diet female rats had a significantly higher pain index at 44°C than control-diet females. Mechanical sensitivity was affected following capsaicin cream, with a significantly decreased tolerated bottle distance in both cocoa- and control-diet animals, but there was no difference between cocoa- and control-diet groups.
Conclusion:
Using the OPAD operant system, we demonstrated that a diet rich in cocoa was effective in inhibiting neurogenic inflammatory pain in rats. This has implications for the use of novel alternative therapies such as diet modification for pain control.
