Cacao Flavanol Studies
Explore published research on cacao flavanols. We summarize selected studies from universities and research institutions, including their design, flavanol dosage, measured outcomes and the conclusions reported by the researchers.
Research overview
Selected research on cocoa flavanols
Mindkore measures flavanol content batch by batch, so research using quantified cocoa flavanol exposure is especially relevant to how we look at cacao. Below are five published studies showing the types of study designs, flavanol doses and measurements that have been used in cocoa and flavonoid research.
UK Biobank Flavonoid Study
Study design: This 2025 Nature Food analysis used dietary data from 124,805 UK Biobank participants. Researchers examined flavonoid intake across the participants' diets in a large prospective cohort.
What was measured: Researchers assessed both the total quantity of dietary flavonoids and the diversity of flavonoid-containing foods consumed by participants. These intake patterns were then compared with multiple long-term outcomes recorded during follow-up. Because this was an observational cohort study, the researchers were examining statistical associations between dietary patterns and recorded outcomes rather than assigning participants to a cocoa-flavanol intervention.
Study reference
Parmenter et al., Nature Food, 2025PMID 40456886 · DOI 10.1038/s43016-025-01176-1
Cocoa Flavanols & the Dentate Gyrus
Study design: Brickman and colleagues studied 37 healthy adults aged 50 to 69 over three months. Participants received a diet containing either 900 mg or 10 mg of cocoa flavanols per day.
What was measured: Researchers used high-resolution brain imaging to examine cerebral blood volume in the dentate gyrus, a region of the hippocampus. Participants also completed cognitive testing, including the Modified Benton task (ModBent), which was designed to assess a cognitive function associated with the dentate gyrus. The study compared the imaging and cognitive measurements between the high-flavanol and low-flavanol conditions.
Study reference
Brickman et al., Nature Neuroscience, 2014PMID 25344629 · DOI 10.1038/nn.3850
Dark Chocolate & Exercise Testing
Study design: Patel and colleagues used a randomized crossover design with nine moderately trained men. Participants consumed 40 g of dark chocolate or white chocolate daily for two weeks before completing controlled cycling tests.
What was measured: The researchers tested participants during controlled cycling and measured gas-exchange threshold, oxygen consumption, respiratory exchange ratio, blood lactate and heart rate. Participants also completed a two-minute cycling time trial so that exercise performance could be compared between the different study conditions.
Study reference
Patel, Brouner & Spendiff, JISSN, 2015PMID 26674253 · DOI 10.1186/s12970-015-0106-7
Cocoa Flavanols & Skin Measurements
Study design: Heinrich and colleagues compared women consuming cocoa drinks containing either 326 mg or 27 mg of flavanols per day for 12 weeks.
What was measured: Researchers repeatedly exposed small areas of skin to controlled UV light and measured the resulting erythema response. They also measured several physical skin characteristics, including skin blood flow, hydration, density, thickness and surface characteristics, at different points during the twelve-week intervention.
Study reference
Heinrich et al., Journal of Nutrition, 2006PMID 16702322 · DOI 10.1093/jn/136.6.1565
Cocoa, Cognition & Aging
Study design: The CoCoA study randomized 90 cognitively healthy older adults to cocoa drinks containing 48 mg, 520 mg or 993 mg of cocoa flavanols per day for eight weeks.
What was measured: Researchers assessed cognitive performance using several established tests. These included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Trail Making Test A, Trail Making Test B and a verbal-fluency test. Scores were measured during the intervention and compared across the three different cocoa-flavanol intake groups.
Study reference
Mastroiacovo et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015PMID 25733639 · DOI 10.3945/ajcn.114.092189
Explore Mindkore high flavanol cacao
Mindkore High Flavanol Cacao Powder
Upcoming batch • Pre-order
Guaranteed batch specification: ≥8% total flavanols • ≤0.82 mg/kg cadmium
Final independently measured batch values pending laboratory analysis.
Select your size
Choose the pack size that suits you. Quantity discounts are applied automatically.
✓ Pre-order for the upcoming batch
+ Shipping & Quantity Discounts