Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

Following food intake, the body activates several processes to degrade and digest it. Studies show that there is an adaptation of gastric emptying and gastrointestinal motility to a food component; therefore, considering the intestinal adaptation to chocolate, the effect on gastrointestinal motility in relation to the intake of chocolate will be investigated.

The organoleptic perceptions of dark chocolate will also be analyzed to evaluate the appreciation of the product ingested by the subject.


Clinical Trial Description

Chocolate, the main product deriving from cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao, from the Greek "food of the gods") has its origin in Mexico, where Maya, Inca and Aztecs practiced its cultivation, has for centuries been appreciated for its pleasant taste and its beneficial health effects.

Chocolate is the most sought-after food worldwide, and currently its consumption has increased considerably with a wide availability of products on the market.

Dietary choices are strongly influenced by the taste and consistency of foods. Fat is largely responsible for the sensory properties of many foods and, therefore, contribute greatly to the pleasure of eating. Dark chocolate consists of ≈43% of lipids, mainly represented by cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is composed of an average of 33% of oleic acid, 25% of palmitic acid and 33% of stearic acid. Another component of chocolate is polyphenols, in particular flavonoids, substances with numerous beneficial effects for health, including antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, metabolic and prebiotic activity playing a role in the change of human intestinal microbiota. Recent scientific studies show an inverse correlation between the intake of flavonoids in the diet and the incidence of diabetes, such as to hypothesize the use of foods rich in flavonoids as potential food supplements in the management of diabetes. The cocoa flavonoids can bring benefits to the insulin-resistance condition by improving endothelial function, modifying glucose metabolism and reducing oxidative stress, which is considered the main cause of insulin resistance. In healthy individuals and even in patients with moderate cardiovascular risk, regular intake of flavonoids improves levels of cardiovascular biomarkers, reducing serum LDL cholesterol concentrations and triglycerides and increasing HDL cholesterol concentrations. The flavonoids present in cocoa may also inhibit platelet aggregation by down-regulation of the cellular synthesis of eicosanoids. Chocolate is an effective alternative for increasing fiber intake at recommended levels; in addition, it reduces intestinal transit time by increasing peristaltic movements. ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT03841578
Study type Interventional
Source University of Bari
Contact Piero Portincasa, MD, PhD
Phone +393284687215
Email piero.portincasa@uniba.it
Status Not yet recruiting
Phase N/A
Start date March 1, 2019
Completion date March 1, 2020

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Enrolling by invitation NCT01468428 - Small Intestinal Function in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis N/A
Completed NCT01159002 - Evaluation of Gastrointestinal Motility With SmartPill N/A
Recruiting NCT05933096 - Contrast-enhanced Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography for Functional Assessment of the Gastrointestinal Transit N/A
Completed NCT01158989 - Clinical Evaluation Gastrointestinal Motility With PillCam N/A
Recruiting NCT06320613 - Effect of Implementing Snap-needle Therapy Combined With Ginger Paste During Anesthesia Recovery on the Recovery of Gastrointestinal Function After Gynecologic Laparoscopy N/A
Recruiting NCT03191877 - Effect of Coffee Consumption on Intestinal Motility N/A
Completed NCT00468091 - Effects of Exendin(9-39) on Gastroduodenal Motility Phase 1
Completed NCT01366560 - Effect of GSK962040 on Oesophageal Function Phase 1
Completed NCT01635491 - Gastrointestinal Transit Times and Motility in Healthy Volunteers Obtained by Motilis-3D-transit N/A