RT Journal Article
T1 Flavanol-Rich Cocoa Supplementation Inhibits Mitochondrial Biogenesis Triggered by Exercise
A1 García-Merino, Jose Angel
A1 de Lucas Moreno, Beatriz
A1 Herrera Rocha, Karen
A1 Moreno Pérez, Diego
A1 Montalvo-Lominchar, Maria Gregoria
A1 Fernández-Romero, Arantxa
A1 Santiago, Catalina
A1 Larrosa Pérez, María Del Mar
A1 Pérez Ruiz, Margarita
A2 Suzuki, Katsuhiko
A2 Roberts, Llion
AB The potential role of cocoa supplementation in an exercise context remains unclear. We describe the effects of flavanol-rich cocoa supplementation during training on exercise performance and mitochondrial biogenesis. Forty-two male endurance athletes at the beginning of the training season received either 5 g of cocoa (425 mg of flavanols) or maltodextrin (control) daily for 10 weeks. Two different doses of cocoa (equivalent to 5 g and 15 g per day of cocoa for a 70 kg person) were tested in a mouse exercise training study. In the athletes, while both groups had improved exercise performance, the maximal aerobic speed increased only in the control group. A mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed that the control group responded to training by increasing the mitochondrial load whereas the cocoa group showed no increase. Oxidative stress was lower in the cocoa group than in the control group, together with lower interleukin-6 levels. In the muscle of mice receiving cocoa, we corroborated an inhibition of mitochondrial biogenesis, which might be mediated by the decrease in the expression of nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2. Our study shows that supplementation with flavanol-rich cocoa during the training period inhibits mitochondrial biogenesis adaptation through the inhibition of reactive oxygen species generation without impacting exercise performance.
PB MDPI
YR 2022
FD 2022-08-04
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/92084
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/92084
LA eng
NO García-Merino JA, de Lucas B, Herrera-Rocha K, Moreno-Pérez D, Montalvo-Lominchar MG, Fernández-Romero A, Santiago C, Pérez-Ruiz M, Larrosa M. Flavanol-Rich Cocoa Supplementation Inhibits Mitochondrial Biogenesis Triggered by Exercise. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Aug 4;11(8):1522. doi: 10.3390/antiox11081522. PMID: 36009241; PMCID: PMC9405215.
NO Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain
NO Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, Spain
NO European Social Fund through the Operational Program for Youth Employment
NO Youth Employment Initiative of the Community of Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 8 abr 2025