Figure 1.

Effects of dietary supplementation of epicatechin on survival rate in aged mice fed a standard diet. Twenty-month-old male C57BL/6 mice were treated with EC (0.25% w/v in drinking water) or control (OC) for 37 or 44 wk (n = 33/group). A) Epicatechin intake significantly increased survival rate of mice. B–D) Epicatechin intake enhanced BW (B) while decreasing food and drink intake (C, D) during the experimental period. E) The average BW, food intake, and drink intake of the entire experimental period. F, G) Epicatechin intake did not significantly affect the results of the glucose tolerance test (F) or fasting plasma glucose levels (G). *P < 0.05 EC vs. OC (n = 12–33).