CAN (-)-EPICATECHIN-RICH MILK CHOCOLATE IMPROVE HUMAN VASCULAR FUNCTION?

Key evidence suggests (-)-epicatechin (EC) is the active flavanol responsible for an improved vascular response (measured by flow-mediated dilation; FMD) seen after ingestion of flavanol-rich cocoa. It is hypothesised that EC metabolites are able to improve nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability in the vascular endothelium, either through activation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and/ or inhibition NAPDPH oxidase. Most research in this area has focused on the effects of high-flavanol experimental foods (>1mg/kg BW EC). Comparatively, milk chocolate contains a much lower level of EC (>10mg per portion) that may infer a lesser vascular effect if assuming a linear dose-response, although the dose-dependency of EC is relatively unknown. Our previous study sought to investigate the vascular effect of 3 low-level doses of pure EC (0.1, 0.5 and 1mg/kg BW). Vascular results have shown a significantly improved FMD response at 2 hours with 0.5mg/kg BW dose. This 'active' dose will inform the current project.This project aims to investigate the effect of a daily intake of (-)-epicatechin rich milk chocolate on vascular function in healthy males. A randomised, double-blind, controlled, crossover intervention using a EC-rich milk chocolate (40mg EC per 10g) and a control milk chocolate (