Effect of Chronic Dark Chocolate or Cocoa Intake on Cognitive Function: A Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)–Assessed Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Clicks: 27
ID: 326419
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #14 of 37 articles by views in nutrition reviews

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract Context Cocoa and dark chocolate are abundant dietary sources of polyphenols and may improve cognitive performance. Previous studies have been controversial. Objective In this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials we aimed to review the effect of regular dark chocolate or cocoa intake on cognitive function. Data sources The literature search included the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases up to January 2025. Data extraction A random-effects model was used to calculate the weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% CI. The Cochrane Collaboration criteria tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias for the included studies. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Data analysis Eight studies of the 16 included studies of 2847 participants found a significant effect on at least 1 of the cognitive function domains. Chronic dark chocolate or cocoa intake significantly improved results of the Trail Making Test (TMT) part A (WMD, −4.51; 95% CI, −8.41 to −0.60; P = .024) and part B (WMD, −13.1; 95% CI, −17.73 to −8.47; P < .001) and verbal fluency test (VFT) (WMD, 3.15; 95% CI, 0.71-5.6; P = .012). Subgroup analysis showed that this efficacy is greater in dosages of ≥500 mg cocoa flavanol/d and duration ≥8 weeks. The results of studies on working and verbal memory were inconsistent. Participant scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) did not indicate any beneficial effects of chronic dark chocolate or cocoa intake. The quality of evidence was moderate and high. Conclusions Our findings suggest that chronic dark chocolate or cocoa intake has potential benefits on some dimensions of cognitive function, including executive function, attention, processing speed, language, and rote memory. Systematic Review Registration PROSPERO registration No. CRD42024568294
Reference Key
openalex_W7204179591 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Zahra Arabpour, Zeynab Arabpour, Shima Jazayeri
Journal nutrition reviews
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/nutrit/nuaf286
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf286
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.