Article - Consumption of 85% cocoa dark chocolate improves mood in association with gut microbial changes in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial.

None

Take home message

To highlight the potential benefits of high cocoa content dark chocolate in relation to mental states
To promote more awareness of how dietary habits may impact emotional wellbeing
To emphasise the importance of microbiota and the gut-brain axis regarding dietary habits.

Evidence category

A: Meta-analyses, position-stands, randomized-controlled trials (RCTs)

Summary review

Background

The authors highlight that dark chocolate has been continually identified for its effects on mood. However, there is a dearth of evidence concerning the emotional impact of daily consumption of dark chocolate. Hence, the impact of dark chocolate consumption on daily mood, focusing on the gut-brain axis, is being investigated in this study.

Objectives

To evaluate the correlation between the effect on emotional state after consuming dark chocolate and the gut microbiota in healthy adults
To identify alterations in the composition and diversity of the microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract on account of dark chocolate intake.

Study Design A randomised controlled trial was performed at Seoul National University from July to December 2017, This involved. consumption of two types of dark chocolate (70% and 85% cocoa content). Subjects in the treatment groups were blinded although investigators and the control cohort were unblinded.

Participants 117 individuals were screened. However, 48 healthy males and females aged 20-30 years were eligible at baseline.

Interventions

Subjects (n=16): Consumed 30g/day of 70% cocoa chocolate for 3 weeks
Participants (n=18): Consumed 30g/day of 85% cocoa chocolate for 3 weeks
Participants (n=14): The control group consumed no chocolate for 3 weeks.

Main Health Outcomes Measured

Mood states were quantified via the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule in tandem with Microbiota analysis pre- and post-experiment
Body composition analysis and dietary assessment were also conducted pre- and post-intervention
Faecal 16S rRNA sequencing analysis of bacterial genomic DNA was conducted for the cohort who consumed 85% cocoa chocolate and the control arm to evaluate the association between the mood-altering effects of dark chocolate and the gut microbiota
Statistical tests were performed based on intention-to-treat analysis. The Chi-squared test, Kruskal-Wallis test, one-way ANOVA, unpaired t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were employed for inter-group analysis. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to assess the association between gut microbiota composition and mood scores and P<.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Daily intake of dark chocolate substantially diminished negative emotional states in the cohort consuming 85% cocoa content, but not in the 70% cocoa treatment arm
Gut microbial diversity was substantially greater in the 85% cacao cohort than the control group (P<.05)
Blautia obeum levels were significantly elevated and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii levels were decreased in the 85% cacao cohort than the control arm (P<.05).
Furthermore, it was observed that changes in negative affect scores were inversely correlated with diversity and relative abundance of Blautia obeum (P<.05).

Conclusions

The observations suggest that consumption of dark chocolate with a higher cocoa content may induce prebiotic effects due to its capacity to restructure the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota. Furthermore, consuming dark chocolate with a higher cocoa might exert a positive effect on negative emotional states through the gut-brain axis.

Clinical practice applications

To inform practitioners of the benefits of 30g/day high (85%) cocoa chocolate consumption and its potential positive impact on mood through the gut-brain axis
To educate clients regarding the potential benefits of daily high cocoa content chocolate consumption and its possible favourable effect on emotional states associated with gut microbiota.

Considerations for future research

More extensive research could investigate interventions of a longer period
Further studies could evaluate if any difference exists between cocoa and cacao consumption and emotional states via the gut-brain axis, and the strength of any associations
Interventions could investigate which strains of bacteria that high cocoa content dark chocolate may affect.

Abstract

Dark chocolate has long been recognized for its mood-altering properties; however, the evidence regarding the emotional effects of daily dark chocolate intake is limited. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of dark chocolate intake on mood in everyday life, with special emphasis on the gut-brain axis. Two different dark chocolates (85% and 70% cocoa content) were tested in this study. In a randomized controlled trial, healthy adults (20-30 y) consumed either 30 g/d of 85% cocoa chocolate (DC85, n=18); 70% cocoa chocolate (DC70, n=16); or no chocolate (control group, CON; n=14); for 3 weeks. Mood states were measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Daily consumption of dark chocolate significantly reduced negative affect in DC85, but not in DC70. To assess the association between the mood-altering effects of dark chocolate and the gut microbiota, we performed fecal 16S rRNA sequencing analysis for the DC85 and CON groups. Gut microbial diversity was significantly higher in DC85 than CON (P<.05). Blautia obeum levels were significantly elevated and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii levels were reduced in DC85 compared to CON (P<.05). Furthermore, we found that the observed changes in negative affect scores were negatively correlated with diversity and relative abundance of Blautia obeum (P<.05). These findings indicate that dark chocolate exerts prebiotic effects, as evidenced by its ability to restructure the diversity and abundance of intestinal bacteria; thus, it may improve negative emotional states via the gut-brain axis.

Free resources