Potential effects of chocolate on human pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: This trial was undertaken to evaluate the effects of high-cocoa-content chocolate supplementation in pregnancy on several haematochemical and clinical parameters. The study had as reference population the pregnant women requesting an obstetric control at Outpatient Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the S. Maria della Misericordia University Hospital, Perugia, Italy. Candidates who participated in this study were all Caucasian women aged 18–40 years, who had a single gestation pregnancy between 11th + 0 and 13th + 0 week gestational age. Methods: We conducted a single-center randomized controlled trial. The pregnant women selected were randomized into Group A, which received daily doses of 30 g of chocolate (70% cocoa), and Group B, which was free to increase their diet with other foods. Results: Ninety women were randomized. Significant difference was found between the two groups for diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.05), systolic (p < 0.0001) and levels of liver enzymes, with values lower in Group A than in Group B. Total cholesterol levels and weight gain in Group A did not increase more than in Group B. Conclusions: A modest daily intake of high-cocoa-content chocolate contributes to reduce blood pressure, glycemic and liver pattern during pregnancy without affecting the weight gain.

Keywords::

• Blood pressure
• cocoa
• high-cocoa-content chocolate
• pregnancy

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to all the members of the “Prenatal Chocoteam” (authors not included): Adalberti Alberti, BSc, PhD, Zena Baccaille, Res midwife, Nadia Belia, Res midwife, Giovanni Cammardella, MD, Maria Pia Chiuchiù, Dietitian, Francesca Incalza, MD, Alessia Rosati, MD, Vittorio Bini, MD, Statistician. We would like to thank Mrs. Averna, CEO of Pernigotti SPA (Novi Ligure, Italy), for kindly providing all the chocolate bars used for this study. This paper is presented at the poster session at the Pregnancy Meeting, Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine, Hilton, Chicago, Chicago, USA, 1-6 February, 2010. Author participation with the manuscript. Gian Carlo Di Renzo: design of the study protocol; analysis and interpretation of data; drafting of the manuscript; critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Eleonora Brillo: acquisition of data; analysis and interpretation of data; drafting of the manuscript; critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Maila Romanelli: acquisition of data; analysis and interpretation of data. Giuseppina Porcaro: acquisition of data; analysis and interpretation of data; drafting of the manuscript. Federica Capanna: organization of data; drafting of the manuscript. Tomi T. Kanninen: analysis and interpretation of data; drafting of the manuscript. Sandro Gerli: analysis and interpretation of data; critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. Graziano Clerici: analysis and interpretation of data; critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.