{"id":235118,"date":"2025-09-18T00:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T00:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235118\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T00:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T00:46:13","slug":"cocoa-extract-supplement-reduces-key-marker-of-inflammation-and-aging-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/235118\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocoa extract supplement reduces key marker of inflammation and aging, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Study<\/p>\n

COSMOS Trial study pills pack. Credit: Mars Edge<\/p>\n

Could cocoa extract supplements rich in cocoa flavanols reduce inflammation and, in turn, prevent age-related chronic diseases?<\/p>\n

In a new study from the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS)<\/a>, investigators from Mass General Brigham and their colleagues looked at changes in five age-related markers of inflammation among participants who received daily cocoa supplements over several years.<\/p>\n

They found that hsCRP\u2014an inflammatory marker that can signal increased risk of cardiovascular disease\u2014decreased in participants taking the cocoa extract supplement, suggesting its anti-inflammatory potential may help explain its heart-protective effects.<\/p>\n

Their results are published in Age and Ageing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nutritional interventions have become an increasingly attractive solution for slowing inflammatory aging, so-called “inflammaging.” Cocoa extract has been shown in previous, smaller studies to reduce inflammatory biomarkers, thanks to flavanols\u2014small, bioactive compounds<\/a> found not only in the cocoa bean but also berries, grapes, tea, and other plant-based foods.<\/p>\n

To bridge the gap between these studies and humans, researchers launched the large-scale COSMOS trial, which examines the effects of cocoa extract on cardiovascular disease, and whether inflammaging may explain those effects.<\/p>\n

“Our interest in cocoa extract and inflammaging started on the basis of cocoa-related reductions in cardiovascular disease,” said corresponding author Howard Sesso, ScD, MPH, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.<\/p>\n

“We also appreciate the important overlap between healthy aging and cardiovascular health, where aging-related inflammation can harden arteries and lead to cardiovascular disease. Because of that, we wanted to see whether multi-year cocoa extract supplementation versus a placebo could modulate inflammaging\u2014and the data suggests it does.”<\/p>\n

Between 2014 and 2020, Brigham and Women’s Hospital led the COSMOS trial, a large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 21,442 participants over 60 years old, finding that cocoa extract supplementation decreased cardiovascular disease mortality by 27%.<\/p>\n

In this new study, researchers collected and analyzed blood samples<\/a> of 598 COSMOS participants to measure several inflammaging biomarkers: three pro-inflammatory proteins (hsCRP, IL-6, and TNF-\u03b1), one anti-inflammatory protein (IL-10), and one immune-mediating protein (IFN-\u03b3).<\/p>\n

Comparing changes in these biomarkers measured at baseline, one, and two years follow-up, hsCRP levels decreased by 8.4% each year compared with placebo, while the other biomarkers remained relatively consistent or increased modestly.<\/p>\n

The decrease in hsCRP may help explain the cardio-protective effects seen with cocoa extract supplement in the larger COSMOS trial, where participants experienced a reduction in cardiovascular disease<\/a> death.<\/p>\n

Researchers said that changes in the other inflammaging markers, including a small reduction in IL-6 observed in female but not male participants, warrant additional study.<\/p>\n

The team will continue to evaluate the COSMOS trial to determine whether the cocoa\u2014and multivitamin\u2014regimens can curb more severe inflammaging, as well as other important aging-related health outcomes.<\/p>\n

“This study calls for more attention to the advantage of plant-based foods for cardiovascular health, including cocoa<\/a> products rich in flavanols,” added Sesso. “It reinforces the importance of a diverse, colorful, plant-based diet\u2014especially in the context of inflammation.”<\/p>\n

More information:<\/strong>
\n Sidong Li et al, Effects of Two-year Cocoa Extract Supplementation on Inflammaging Biomarkers in Older US Adults: Findings from the COSMOS Randomized Clinical Trial, (2025). DOI: 10.1093\/ageing\/afaf269<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMass General Brigham<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Citation<\/strong>:
\n Cocoa extract supplement reduces key marker of inflammation and aging, study finds (2025, September 17)
\n retrieved 17 September 2025
\n from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2025-09-cocoa-supplement-key-marker-inflammation.html\n <\/p>\n

\n This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COSMOS Trial study pills pack. Credit: Mars Edge Could cocoa extract supplements rich in cocoa flavanols reduce inflammation…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":235119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[210,1212,1211,1213,1210,1209,1214,1182,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-235118","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-research","10":"tag-health-research-news","11":"tag-health-science","12":"tag-medicine-research","13":"tag-medicine-research-news","14":"tag-medicine-science","15":"tag-nutrition","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115222543422371630","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}