Table 5 The effect of CF supplementation on exercise performance
Reference | Participants | Nutritional Intervention | Supplementation period | Exercise stimulus | Measure(s) | Key outcome(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
de Carvalho, Fisher [49] | 13 trained males Age 21 ± 2 years Stature 180 ± 0.05 cm Mass 87.02 ± 8.03 kg | CF: CHO + protein cocoa beverage, 306 mg CF per beverage CON: cocoa based CHO + protein beverage, 0 mg CF | 7 days, beverage consumed twice daily | Five sets of 20 drop jumps from 0.6 m, 10 s between jumps and 2 min interset rest | Yo-Yo intermittent test |  ↔ between groups CF group ↑ 9.85% compared to baseline CON ↓ 5.8% compared to baseline |
Decroix, Tonoli [43] | 12 well-trained males Age 30 ± 3 years Stature 177.9 ± 8.8 cm Mass 72.8 ± 7.8 kg V̇O2max 63.0 ± 3.5 ml·kg−1 min−1 | CF: cocoa drink, 900 mg CF (EPI: 185 mg, CAT: 20 mg) CON: placebo, 15 mg CF (EPI: 0 mg, CAT: 0 mg) | Acute dose 1.5 pre-exercise | Two 30 min time trials 60 min apart, performed at a ~ 75% peak power output | (i) Time trial (ii) PPO | (i) ↔ between groups (ii) PPO ↑ after 25 min in the 1st time trial for CF |
Decroix et al. [45] | 14 well-trained males Age 31 ± 3 years Stature 180 ± 5 cm Mass 73 ± 7 kg V̇O2max 62.9 ± 5.8 ml·kg−1 min−1 Peak Power Output 366 ± 45 W | CF: Capsule, 530 mg CF (EPI: 100 mg, CAT: 21 mg) CON: 1,764 mg maltodextrin | Consumed daily for six days and then a seventh on the day of testing | 20 min steady state cycling at 45% peak power output 20 min time trial beginning at 75% peak power output Completed in normoxic and hypoxic environments | Time trial |  ↔ between groups |
Fraga, Actis-Goretta [41] | 28 trained males Age 18 ± 1 years Mass 74 ± 1 kg | CF: 105 g chocolate confectionery, 168 mg CF (EPI + CAT: 39 mg) CON: 105 g cocoa butter chocolate, < 5 mg CF | Sub-chronic, 14 day consumption | Soccer training sessions twice per week and one match per week | V̇O2max shuttle run |  ↔ between groups |
Patel, Brouner [85] | 9 trained males Age 21 ± 1 years Stature 177 ± 9.4 cm Mass 76.0 ± 9.3 kg V̇O2max 41.89 ± 5.4 ml·kg−1 min−1 | CF: 40 g dark chocolate, 259 mg CF CON: 40 g white chocolate | Sub-chronic, 14 days consumption | 20 min cycling at 80% of gas exchange threshold followed by a 2 min maximal sprint time trial | Time trial | A 17% ↑ in distance covered was observed following CF supplementation |
Patel, Brouner [86] | 15 healthy (10 males, 5 females) participants Age 30 ± 7 years Stature 176.8 ± 8.6 cm Mass 80.3 ± 8.4 kg V̇O2max Males: 51.1 ± 3.5 Females: 41.6 ± 5.5 ml·kg−1 min−1 | CF: dark chocolate, 1060 mg CF, 764 mg CF, or 406 mg CF CON: 88 mg CF | Acute ingestion, 2 h pre-exercise | 2-min incremental cycling warm-up until 80% of GET then maintained for 40 min. Followed by an incremental test to failure | (i) V̇O2 (ii) PPO | (i) ↔ between treatment (ii) ↔ between treatment |
Peschek, Pritchett [79] | 8 well-trained males Age 25 ± 6 years Stature 182.1 ± 6.3 cm Mass 73.4 ± 7.0 V̇O2max 64.4 ± 7.6 ml·kg−1 min−1 | CF: Cocoa based CHO protein beverage with added cocoa, 350 mg CF CON: cocoa based CHO protein beverage, 0 mg CF | Acute ingestion of two beverages separated by 2 h post-exercise protocol | 30 min downhill running at a − 10% gradient at 70% V̇O2max | 5 km time trial |  ↔ between treatments |
Sadler, Draijer [89] | 17 healthy (11 males, 6 females) participants Age 45 ± 6 years Stature 162 ± 0.1 cm Mass 68.2 ± 17.7 kg | CF: capsule containing 100 mg CF (EPI + CAT: 22 mg) | Four capsules taken daily (two in the morning and two in the evening) for seven consecutive days Four capsules consumed 45 min prior to arrival at the lab on the day of the protocol (7th day) | 6 min cycling at 80% GET threshold × 3 and 1 bout of cycling at 60% of the difference between GET and V̇O2peak until exhaustion | (i) tV̇O2 (ii) ET | (i) 15% ↓ in CF group than CON (ii) ↔ between treatments for ET |
Stellingwerff, Godin [88] | 16 healthy males Age 30 ± 6 years Stature 179.9 ± 7.8 cm Mass 72.8 ± 6.0 kg V̇O2peak 56.3 ± 5.7 ml·kg−1 min−1 | CF: 561 kcal dark chocolate, 240 mg CF (EPI: 89 mg, CAT: 24 mg) CON: chocolate ~ 0 mg CF | Acute ingestion 2 h pre-exercise | Cycled for 2.5 h at ~ 45% V̇O2max, followed by 15 min time trial | Time trial |  ↔ between treatments |
Taub et al. [50] | 17 sedentary (9 males 8 females) participants CF: Age 50 ± 3 Stature 168 ± 3 Mass 78.8 ± 5.6 V̇O2max 22.9 ± 1.9 ml·kg−1 min−1 CON: Age 50 ± 2 Stature 175 ± 5 Mass 92.2 ± 9.7 V̇O2max 24 ± 1.7 ml·kg−1 min−1 | CF: 20 g dark chocolate, 175.2 mg CF (EPI: 26 mg, CAT: 4.6) CON: 20 g placebo chocolate | Chronic (3 months daily intake) | Cycling exercise including V̇O2max | (i) V̇O2max (ii) Power | (i) Significant ↑ in CF vs CON (ii) CF significant ↑, CON ↔  |