Researchers Identify How Cocoa Flavanols Reduce Risk of Muscle Damage in People with Peripheral Artery Disease

Newswise — Article title: Cocoa flavanols, Nrf2 activation, and oxidative stress in peripheral artery disease: Mechanistic findings in muscle based on outcomes from a randomized trial

Authors: Ahmed Ismaeel, Mary M. McDermott, Jai K. Joshi, Jada C. Sturgis, Dongxue Zhang, Karen J. Ho, Robert Sufit, Luigi Ferrucci, Charlotte A. Peterson, Kate Kosmac

From the authors: “The current study supports the hypothesis that in people with PAD, cocoa flavanols activate Nrf2, thereby increasing antioxidant protein levels, protecting against skeletal muscle damage, and increasing mitochondrial protein abundance.”

This study is highlighted as one of March’s “best of the best” as part of the American Physiological Society's APSselect program.