Theobromine is associated with slower epigenetic ageing

Abstract

Theobromine, a commonly consumed dietary alkaloid derived from cocoa, has been linked to extended lifespan in model organisms and to health benefits in humans. We examined associations between circulating levels of theobromine intake, measured using serum metabolomics, and blood-based epigenetic markers of biological ageing in two European human population-based cohorts. Serum theobromine levels were significantly associated with reduced epigenetic age acceleration, as measured by GrimAge (p < 2e-7) and DNAmTL (p < 0.001) in 509 individuals from the TwinsUK cohort, and both signals replicated in 1,160 individuals from the KORA cohort (p = 7.2e-08 and p = 0.007, respectively). Sensitivity analyses including covariates of other cocoa and coffee metabolites suggest that the effect is specific to theobromine. Our findings indicate that the reported beneficial links between theobromine intake on health and ageing extend to the molecular epigenetic level in humans.