• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

2.5 grammes of pure cocoa found to improve visual acuity in daylight

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 23, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: Brands & People.

Eating 2.5 grams of pure natural cocoa powder serves to improve visual acuity in healthy young adults and in daylight conditions, according to research by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) and the ICTAN (Institute of Food and Nutrition Science and Technology) of the CSIC.

The study, published in the Journal of Functional Foods, analyse the effects of two dietary polyphenols: cocoa flavanols and red berry anthocyanins.

“Although this was the baseline hypothesis, we did not see any effect either on adaptation to darkness or on visual acuity measured in low light conditions (mesopic vision), either with cocoa or with berries,” indicates María Cinta Puell Marín, researcher at the Optometry and Vision Department and Director of the Applied Vision Group at the UCM.

The researchers attributed the positive effects on photopic visual acuity to improved attention or processing of visual information thanks to the flavanols and theobromine, a group of alkaloids which stimulate the central nervous system and are found in cocoa, similar to caffeine in coffee.

In order to conduct the study, the volunteers drank a glass of milk with cocoa, berries, or just milk on three separate visits to provide an intervening washout period (time to eliminate the traces of each foodstuff). The levels of polyphenols in their urine were measured after three hours.

To measure visual acuity, letter charts were placed four metres from the individuals in different lighting conditions, one high (photopic) and one low (mesopic). Adaptation to darkness employed a psychophysical method measuring the sensitivity recovery dynamic subsequent to the whitening of the retinal photopigments.

Before these tests, a series of questionnaires and eye examinations were conducted to demonstrate the absence of any dietary factor or prior pathology which could give rise to any error in the analysis of the results and the conclusions drawn.

“We need to conduct certain further studies as proof of concept to confirm that the effect is real and that the results could be applied to the design of products which could help to improve visual acuity and attention in defined populations,” adds Sonia de Pascual-Teresa of the ICTAN-CSIC.

###

Media Contact
María Milán
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464621000840?via%3Dihub

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2021.104435

Tags: Medicine/HealthNutrition/NutrientsOphthalmology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Figure 4

Living donor liver transplant access is optimal for high-risk waitlisted cirrhosis patients

September 26, 2023
New coronavirus capture material

New material captures coronavirus particles and could transform face mask efficiency

September 26, 2023

UH researcher on team developing sense-and-respond cancer implant technology

September 26, 2023

Invertebrate decline reduces natural pest control and decomposition of organic matter

September 26, 2023
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Microbe Computers

    59 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • A pioneering study from Politecnico di Milano sheds light on one of the still poorly understood aspects of cancer

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9
  • Fossil spines reveal deep sea’s past

    34 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9
  • Scientists go ‘back to the future,’ create flies with ancient genes to study evolution

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

A novel role discovered for vagus nerve

Patients who quit smoking after percutaneous coronary intervention do as well as non-smokers – unless they had smoked heavily

THE LANCET: Gender inequalities worsen women’s access to cancer prevention, detection and care; experts call for transformative feminist approach

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 56 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In