Chocolate and health: A brief review of the evidence

Abstract

Interest in the biological activities of cocoa polyphenols is steadily increasing. In fact, the high polyphenol content of cocoa, coupled with its widespread presence in many food items, render this food of particular interest from the nutritional and pharmacological viewpoints. Indeed, the number of publications concerning cocoa and chocolate is increasing steadily (Fig. 5.1). Of such publications, an increasing proportion concerns the effects of polyphenols and, in particular, flavonoids on human biology and health (Fig. 5.2). As outlined in detail in other chapters of this book, research is unraveling new and diversified healthful actions of minor constituents of cocoa. This is also reflected by the increasing number of patents covering industrial processes that aim at maintaining the highest possible amounts of polyphenols in cocoa. In fact, the current manufacturing process destroys roughly 95% of the polyphenols originally present in the cocoa bean [1].