Cocoa Phytochemicals: Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms on Health

@article{Kim2014CocoaPR,
  title={Cocoa Phytochemicals: Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms on Health},
  author={Jiyoung Kim and Jaekyoon Kim and Jaesung Shim and Chang Yong Lee and Ki Won Lee and Hyong Joo Lee},
  journal={Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition},
  year={2014},
  volume={54},
  pages={1458 - 1472}
}
Recent reports on cocoa are appealing in that a food commonly consumed for pure pleasure might also bring tangible benefits for human health. Cocoa consumption is correlated with reduced health risks of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and cancer, and the health-promoting effects of cocoa are mediated by cocoa-driven phytochemicals. Cocoa is rich in procyanidins, theobromine, (−)-epicatechin, catechins, and caffeine. Among the phytochemicals present in consumed cocoa… 
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Whether and how limitations of scientific knowledge, data derived from large randomized clinical trials, and an accurate assessment of the bioactive components provided by common foodstuff may complicate the extensive use of plant-derived products in the management of hypertension are discussed.

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Insight is provided into the molecular machinery of the chemopreventive activity of cocoa and its flavanols by compiling cell culture and animal models studies, as well as evidence from human interventional trials.

An overview on the role of plant-derived tannins for the treatment of lung cancer.

Proanthocyanidins and hydrolysable tannins: occurrence, dietary intake and pharmacological effects

This review summarizes the current literature on tannins, focusing on the main, recently proposed mechanisms of action that underlie their pharmacological and disease‐prevention properties, as well as their bioavailability, safety and toxicology.
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