Potential Benefit of Dark Chocolate for Liver Disease Patients

Filed in archive Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics , Food and Agriculture on April 20, 2010

© Chocolate Reviews

The benefits of dark chocolate on cardiovascular and cognitive health has been repeatedly reported over the years. In a study presented recently at the International Liver Congress 2010 in Vienna,Austria, researchers report that dark chocolate may also have potential for for liver disease patients.

According to the study, consumption of dark chocolate reduces damage to the blood vessels of patients with cirrhosis, and also lowers blood pressure in the liver. Dark chocolate contains potent anti-oxidants which reduce the post-prandial (after-meal) blood pressure in the liver (or portal hypertension) associated with damaged liver blood vessels (endothelial dysfunction). White chocolate, which contains no beneficial 'phytochemicals', did not result in the same effects.

In the study 21 cirrhotic patients with end stage liver disease were randomized to receive either a liquid meal containing dark chocolate (containing 85% cocoa, 0.55g of dark chocolate/Kg of body weight) or a liquid meal containing white chocolate which is devoid of cocoa flavonoids (anti-oxidant properties). HVPG (blood flow in the liver), arterial pressure and portal blood flow (PBF, blood flow in the liver) were measured at baseline and 30 minutes after meal administration.

Both meals caused a highly significant but similar increase in portal blood flow with a +24% increase in dark chocolate compared to +34% in those patients who received white chocolate. Interestingly, post-prandial hyperaemia (increase blood flow to tissues) was accompanied by an increase in HVPG resulting in a statistically significant increase (17.3±3.6mmHg to 19.1±2.6mmHg, p=0.07) for those patients eating dark chocolate and those receiving white chocolate (16.0±4.7mmHg to 19.7±4.1mmHg, p=0.003). Post-prandial increase in HVPG was markedly reduced in patients receiving dark chocolate (+10.3±16.3% Vs +26.3±12.7%, p=0.02).

Source: EASL (pdf file)