Table 3.
The effect of CF supplementation on exercise-induced changes in muscle function
| Reference | Participants | Nutritional Intervention | Supplementation period | Exercise stimulus | Measure(s) | Key outcome(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corr, Field [80] |
23 active (13 females, 10 males) participants Age 24 ± 5 years Stature 170 ± 9 cm Mass 69 ± 12 kg |
CF: CHO + protein cocoa beverage, 1245 mg (EPI: 150 mg) OR 830 mg (EPI: 99 mg) CON: CHO + protein |
Acute, immediately post-exercise | Five sets of 10 maximal concentric-eccentric contractions of the knee flexors on an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°/s | MVC at 30° and 60° | ↔ between groups, large effect sizes observed 1245 vs CON and 830 vs CON |
| 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 |
(i) MVC (ii) Vertical jump |
(i) ↔ between groups (ii) ↔ between groups |
| Morgan, Wollman [48] |
10 active males Age 23 ± 3 years Stature 184 ± 59 cm Mass 85.3 ± 12.0 kg Single leg 1RM 90.4 ± 19.0 kg |
CF: 330 ml cacao juice, 74 mg CF (EPI: 8 mg, CAT: 43 mg) CON: 330 ml CHO and flavour matched placebo, 0 mg CF |
10 days supplementation (7 days pre-exercise, 3 days post) | 10 sets of 10 single leg knee extensions at ~ 80% 1RM |
(i) MVC (ii) CMJ |
(i) ↔ between groups (ii) ↑ recovery of CMJ |
| 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 | MVC | ↔ between groups |
CF, cocoa flavanols; EPI, epicatechin; CAT, catechin; CON, control; CHO, carbohydrate; 1RM, one rep max; MVC, maximal voluntary contraction; CMJ, countermovement jump; ↑, increase; ↔ , no significant effect/change