Dark Chocolate Modifies Brain Electrical Oscillations in Healthy People | Chapter 11 | Emerging Challenges in Agriculture and Food Science Vol. 2

 Flavonoids found in dark chocolate have been shown to improve body composition and cognitive ability. Dark chocolate's composition has been altered in several commercial preparations to improve flavonoid concentration while lowering caloric intake. The goal of this study was to see how acute and subchronic chocolate consumption affected electrical brain oscillations. A study was conducted with 20 healthy volunteers (average age 24.15 years) and a control group of five subjects (average age 23.2 years). The subjects in the acute effect trial ate dark chocolate (103.72 mg/kg of body weight), which is high in flavonoids and low in calories, similar to fasting. The subjects in the control group only drank low-calorie milk. A daily dose of dark chocolate was administered for eight days to achieve the subchronic effect. The baseline electroencephalogram (EEG) was taken before dark chocolate intake; the second EEG was taken after 30 minutes; and the third and fourth EEGs were taken before and after the final intake on the eighth day. Delta Absolute Power (AP) decreased in most brain regions (p 0.05) after acute and subchronic intake, with the exception of the right fronto-centro-temporal regions. There was a consistent decline in the AP of predominance in the left fronto-centro-temporal areas in the Theta band. In the Alpha band, AP increased in the temporo-occipital areas, while in the Beta band, it increased in the right temporal and parieto-occipital regions. There were no significant changes in brain oscillations in the control group (p > 0.05). In most brain regions, acute and subchronic chocolate consumption decreased Delta and Theta AP while increasing Alpha and Beta AP.

Author(S) Details

Efraín Santiago-Rodríguez
Diagnóstico, Tratamiento e Investigación Neurológica, S. C. Querétaro, 76177 Querétaro, México.

Brenda Estrada-Zaldívar
Diagnóstico, Tratamiento e Investigación Neurológica, S. C. Querétaro, 76177 Querétaro, México.

Elba Zaldívar-Uribe
Diagnóstico, Tratamiento e Investigación Neurológica, S. C. Querétaro, 76177 Querétaro, México.

View Book:- https://stm.bookpi.org/ECAFS-V2/article/view/4909