Plasma kinetics in man of epicatechin from black chocolate

Objective: To evaluate the plasma kinetics in man of epicatechin from black chocolate. Design: An intervention study with 8 volunteers. Each served as his own control. Theobromine was used as control marker of the chocolate intake. Setting: Metabolic Unit, Nestle Research Center, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, Switzerland. Subjects: Eight healthy male volunteers (4 smokers and 4 non-smokers) were enrolled in this study. They abstained from foods rich in polyphenols (coffee, tea, wine, fruit juice, cocoa products) for 24 h prior to the test until its completion. Intervention: Volunteers ate 40 g and 80 g of black chocolate (Nestle Noir) together with bread with a one-week interval. Blood samples were drawn every hour during the first 4 h and a last one at 8 h after chocolate consumption. Plasma samples were analysed for epicatechin and theobromine content by HPLC. Results: Plasma concentrations of epicatechin and theobromine increased markedly after chocolate consumption (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively), reaching a maximum between 2 and 3 h. The maximal concentration and area under the curve of plasma kinetics of both substrates correlated very well with the dose of chocolate. Conclusions: Epicatechin is absorbed from chocolate and is rapidly eliminated from plasma. Attainable plasma values are 0.7 mu mol/l from 80 g of black chocolate.