Just in time for the holidays, researchers in the UK have linked a chemical found in dark chocolate to anti-aging properties.
For the study, published in Aging, researchers at King’s College London homed in on the chemical theobromine, a common plant compound that comes from cocoa. They compared the levels of theobromine in people’s blood with blood-based markers of biological aging.
Across two European cohorts, including 509 individuals from TwinsUK and 1,160 from KORA, the researchers found that those who had higher levels of theobromine circulating in their blood had a biological age that was lower than their actual age.
The researchers used two tests to assess the biological age of people in the study. One looked at chemical changes in DNA to estimate how quickly someone is aging. The other estimated the length of telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes. Previous research has shown that shorter telomeres are associated with aging and age-related diseases.
The UK team also tested whether other metabolites in cocoa and coffee showed a similar link, but the effect seemed to be specific to theobromine. Theobromine, an alkaloid commonly known for being poisonous to dogs, has been linked to health benefits in humans previously, such as lower risk of heart disease, but it has not been intensely investigated.
The research team says they are now exploring avenues for future work. One open question is whether the effect is unique to theobromine alone, or whether theobromine may interact with other compounds in dark chocolate, such as polyphenols, which are known to have beneficial effects on human health.
Data from King’s College London