A study led by scientists of the Spanish Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition (ICTAN-CSIC), published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research supports the idea that cocoa contributes to the prevention of intestinal pathologies related to oxidative stress, such as onset of colon carcinogenesis. Cocoa is a rich source of antioxidant flavonoids that are poorly absorbed in the intestine and consequently their beneficial effects would be more focused on the gastrointestinal tract where they may have an important local function neutralising oxidants.
This study in living animals demonstrates for the first time the protective effect of cocoa flavonoids against the onset of colon carcinogenesis chemically induced by the toxic azoxymethane. The results indicate that animals fed a cocoa-rich diet had a significantly reduced number of aberrant crypts (precancerous lesions) in the intestinal mucosa.
Further information: Dra. María Ángeles Martín Arribas (amartina
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