The main groups of cocoa polyphenols are catechins or flavn-3-ols (catechin and epicatechin), proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins in low proportion. Epicatechin represent 2-4% of the dry weight of defatted cocoa seeds powder.
Dark chocolate with its high cocoa content is a rich source of epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to poses cardioprotective properties.
In human consuming, cocoa, plasma level of non-methylated epicatechins such as epicatechin-7-sulfate and methylated metabolites such as 3’-O-methylepicatechin have been reported to occur in micromolar concentration within 1 hr after intake.
Epicatechin has been found to reduce brain damage in mice when given ninety minuets before or up to three and a half hour after ischemic stroke, possibly by activating two pathways, Nrf2 and heme oxygenase.
Epicatechins compound
The word chocolate is derived from the Aztecs names for the tree, and for the drink they prepared from the beans. These words live on in Mexican today as ‘choclatl’ for the drink and ‘cacauatl’ for the tree. Chocolate was first cultivated as a crop, by ancient Mesoamerican peoples. They used cacao beans to create a frothy chocolate drink flavored with spices.
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