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Cacao

  • Plant preparation
  • Varies by country
  • Identity checked
  • Sources last checked 2026-09-04

This page shows what was measured, who it was measured in, and what that does not settle.

What Cacao does in the body

RNAWiki has not recorded what this substance changes in the body.

What happened in people

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

A fixed RNAWiki sentence

Where this came from

Wording RNAWiki always uses, not a finding about this substance.

No reviewed claim names a result for any goal on this record.

No source is stored against this line.

The limit that matters most

Not recorded.

Where it acts
Not recorded.
Kind of result
No result is published, so no kind of result applies yet
Supervision
Not usually supervised: sold as a supplement or food ingredient where recorded. That is a legal category, not a safety judgement.

What the registries record it as

  • The substance registry classes this as structurallydiverse.

    FDA substance registry · D9108TZ9KG · read 2026-08-29

  • It is recorded as coming from THEOBROMA CACAO WHOLE. The part recorded is seed.

    FDA substance registry · D9108TZ9KG · read 2026-08-29

  • The organism is Theobroma cacao, a species. It is also called cacao, chocolate and cocoa.

    NCBI Taxonomy · 3641 · read 2026-08-29

  • The supplement label database classes it as botanical, under the name cocoa.

    NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · 704 · read 2026-08-29

Where each sentence above came from

No plain explanation of what this changes is stored.

No recorded use is stored in reader language.

No statement of the main limit is recorded.

The four opening statements run to 26 words.

Words this page uses

Four words worth knowing first

Chosen from what this page shows, with each one explained before the word it depends on.

Stand-in result

A stand-in result is a number measured because the real result takes too long.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

It is like judging a journey by the speedometer rather than by arriving.

Where that stops being true. Speed does predict arrival. Many stand-in results do not predict the real one.

What people get wrong. A stand-in result is often reported as the result itself.

A surrogate endpoint substituted for a clinical endpoint, valid only where the substitution has been shown to hold.

Enzyme

An enzyme is a protein that speeds up one chemical change.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

An enzyme is like a machine on a production line doing one cut.

Where that stops being true. A machine is switched on and off by a person. Enzymes are controlled by the cell.

What people get wrong. Enzymes are thought to be used up. They are not; they work again and again.

A catalytic protein that lowers the activation energy of a specific reaction.

Receptor

A receptor is a part of a cell that a signal fits into.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

A receptor is like a lock waiting for one key.

Where that stops being true. A lock either opens or does not. A receptor can be half-triggered, or worn out.

What people get wrong. Fitting a receptor is read as causing a benefit. It causes a step, and nothing more.

A protein that binds a specific ligand and converts that binding into a cellular response.

Pathway

A pathway is a chain of steps inside a cell, each one setting off the next.

A picture of it, and where the picture fails

A pathway is like a row of dominoes.

Where that stops being true. Dominoes fall one way. Pathways loop back and can switch themselves off.

What people get wrong. Changing one step is read as changing the outcome. Other steps often absorb it.

An ordered series of molecular interactions producing a defined cellular change.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What was measured, goal by goal

One row for each goal a registered study measured something for. One column for each kind of thing that could be measured.

Registered studies list 17 outcome measures that RNAWiki could read. A registered study says what someone planned to measure. It does not say what they found. 0 of the matched studies tested this substance, and 0 posted a result.

There is no single score. A strong test result and a weak life result are different facts.

Goals down the side, kinds of measurement across the top. Each cell says what kind of thing was registered, not what was found.
GoalLife outcomeWhat a body can doHow a person feelsA test resultA step in the bodyHarmsHow longWho was studied
Blood sugarNothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a symptom measure for this goal.Only a number moved3 registered test measure.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
CholesterolNothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a symptom measure for this goal.Only a number moved1 registered test measure.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
EnduranceNothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.Waiting for a reviewer1 registered performance measure of this kind.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a symptom measure for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a test result for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
Body weightNothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a performance measure for this goal.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a symptom measure for this goal.Only a number moved1 registered test measure.Nothing in the sources checkedNo registered study lists a body-step measure for this goal.Not recordedHarms were not a registered measure for this goal.Not recordedNo finished study window is recorded.Waiting for a reviewerWho was studied is listed further down the page.
Which registered measures put each goal on this table
Blood sugar
insulin resistance lipid profile; insulin sensitivity; insulin resistance at 3 months
Cholesterol
insulin resistance lipid profile
Endurance
six minute walk distance
Body weight
body composition

Sorted by fixed word lists, version v1. A name the rules do not recognise stays unsorted rather than moving to the nearest column.

What each mark on this table means
Nothing in the sources checked
No registered study lists a life outcome for this goal.
Only a number moved
3 registered test measure.
Not recorded
Harms were not a registered measure for this goal.
Waiting for a reviewer
Who was studied is listed further down the page.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What happened in people

Each card is one study: the exact question it asked, who was in it, and whether it showed what it set out to show.

The First Occurrence of Antiplatelet Trialists Collaboration (APTC) Composite Endpoint, Confirmed by the Clinical Events Committee (CEC).

The study did not show it

Who was studied
NCT00346216
How many people
24081
Study design
Phase 4
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Result not recorded on this page
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. No limitation is recorded for this study.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

  • openFDA NDC Directory · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • openFDA SPL label · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • FDA label (openFDA SPL) · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Injurious falls resulting in healthcare utilization (visit to a healthcare provider or hospital)

The study did not show it

Who was studied
NCT05232669
How many people
21442
Study design
Not applicable
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Result not recorded on this page
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. No limitation is recorded for this study.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

  • openFDA NDC Directory · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • openFDA SPL label · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • FDA label (openFDA SPL) · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Epigenetic age acceleration

The study did not show it

Who was studied
NCT05510375
How many people
21442
Study design
Phase 4
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Result not recorded on this page
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. No limitation is recorded for this study.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

  • openFDA NDC Directory · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • openFDA SPL label · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • FDA label (openFDA SPL) · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Number of Participants With Total Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Events

The study did not show it

Who was studied
NCT02422745
How many people
21442
Study design
Phase 4
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Result not recorded on this page
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. No limitation is recorded for this study.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

  • openFDA NDC Directory · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • openFDA SPL label · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • FDA label (openFDA SPL) · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Cataract

The study did not show it

Who was studied
NCT03205202
How many people
21442
Study design
Phase 4
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Result not recorded on this page
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. No limitation is recorded for this study.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

  • openFDA NDC Directory · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • openFDA SPL label · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • FDA label (openFDA SPL) · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Averaged kilocalories (kcals) per transaction

The study did not show it

Who was studied
NCT06072300
How many people
20000
Study design
Phase 3
Compared against
Not recorded for this study
Kind of result
A number that stands in for health
What was found
Result not recorded on this page
Repeated elsewhere
Unreplicated

What this does not prove. A study that did not show an effect does not show that no effect exists anywhere.

The limits of this study, and where it came from

Main limit. No limitation is recorded for this study.

How far it carries. This study is recorded from the curated record, not from the registry match.

Form and route. Oral

Interval reported. Not recorded in this summary

Written into the record, not signed off as a reviewed claim.

  • openFDA NDC Directory · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • openFDA SPL label · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
  • FDA label (openFDA SPL) · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot
What we know
RNAWiki holds 6 written-up human studies for this substance, each with the question it asked.
How we know it
Each card names the study, the number of people and what the study set out to measure.
What this does not prove
These summaries were written by a person and have not been signed off as reviewed claims.
Why it matters
A study that failed is as informative as one that worked, and both are here.
What we still do not know
No reviewed claim exists, so no exact population, effect size or interval is published yet.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

How close this is to real life

The top step is something a person would feel or care about. The bottom is a guess from software. Filled steps are where evidence exists for this substance.

  1. Living longer, or avoiding a major event No evidence recorded. Death, a heart attack, a stroke, a hospital stay.No registered study measures this.
  2. What a body can do day to day Evidence recorded. Walking, dressing, breathing, recovering.1 registered measure of this kind.
  3. Measured performance Evidence recorded. How much was lifted, how far was run, how fast.1 registered measure of this kind.
  4. Symptoms and quality of life No evidence recorded. Pain, tiredness, mood, sleep, as the person rated it.No registered study measures this.
  5. A number that stands in for health Evidence recorded. Cholesterol, blood sugar, bone density. A stand-in, not the thing itself.4 registered measures of this kind.
  6. A step measured inside a person Evidence recorded. Something measured in human tissue or human cells.A human record sits on the stored organism ladder.
  7. Animals Evidence recorded. Mice, rats, dogs. Useful for ideas, not proof about people.Stored records in Yeast, C. elegans (roundworm), Drosophila (fruit fly), Mouse, Rat, Dog. A result in animals says what to test next. It does not say what happens in people.
  8. Cells in a dish Evidence recorded. Cells or chemistry on a bench, far from a whole body.Stored mechanism abstracts describe steps measured in cells or tissue.
  9. A guess from software No evidence recorded. Nobody measured it. RNAWiki never publishes one as a finding.RNAWiki stores no prediction for this record. Software can suggest a link. RNAWiki does not publish one as a finding.

Higher on these steps means closer to something a person would feel. It does not mean better done.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Felt, measured, or meaningful

Three different things that get called the same word. Registered studies measured all three, and mixing them is how a blood test becomes a health claim.

Felt

Things a person could notice without a test.

No registered study measured anything of this kind.

Measured

Things only a test, a scale or a device shows.

  • insulin resistance lipid profile
  • insulin sensitivity
  • body composition
  • insulin resistance at 3 months

Meaningful

Things that change how a life goes, not only a number.

  • six minute walk distance

A registered study says what someone planned to measure. It does not say what they found. A number moving is not the same as a life going better. The two are shown apart here.

Felt, but not shown to help. A person notices a change. No study showed it leads anywhere good.

Measured, but not felt. A number moves. The person notices nothing. Both can be true.

Measured, but not shown to matter. A number moves in the good direction. Nobody showed that lives went better.

Matters, but takes years. The result that counts may take longer than anyone would keep watching.

Names that fit none of the three (12)
  • endothelial function
  • hemodynamic measurements
  • functional transcranial doppler measures
  • blood lipids
  • correct responses on serial 7 subtraction task
  • performance on bakan task
  • sarcopenic index
  • frequency of correct predictions
  • nutritional status
  • fecal microbiota
  • p2y12 reaction
  • toronto clinical scoring system

These are harms, study-process measures, or names the rules did not recognise. They are shown rather than dropped.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Were people like you studied?

RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it, and where the result stops carrying.

Who was studied

People similar to this profile were included.

  • HOMEOPATHIC INDICATIONS: For the temporary relief of symptoms of stress such as terror, horror, post traumatic stress, fight or flight response, recurring nightmares, difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, and easy irritability. **These statements are based upon homeopathic principles. They have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

Who is missing from the studies

  • Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

Where the result stopped carrying

  • This is a scope explorer, not a diagnosis engine.
  • It shows who was studied so you can see whether people similar to you were included.

RNAWiki cannot tell whether a study fits you. It can show who was in it.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Why it might seem to do nothing

A real effect and a noticed effect are different things. These are the recorded reasons the two come apart.

It was studied for a different goal

The studies measured something else entirely.

On this record: Some registered studies measured things that match no goal on this page.

It was studied in different people

The people in the studies were not much like the reader.

On this record: Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

The evidence may simply be wrong

Small early studies often do not hold up.

On this record: RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Other reasons RNAWiki checked and found nothing for (10)
A different form was studied
The studied form is not the form on the shelf. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
There was nothing to correct
Where a level is already normal, topping it up may change nothing. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else had to happen too
In the studies it was paired with training, a diet or another treatment. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The change is too small to feel
A real change can still sit below what a person notices. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Day-to-day swing hides it
Sleep, food, stress and time of day move most numbers more than this would. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Not enough time yet
The studies ran longer than the person has waited. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
It was not taken as studied
Missed days change the result, and studies count them. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
Something else changed at the same time
Two changes at once cannot be told apart afterwards. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
The product may not be what it says
Contents of a sold product are not always what the label states. Nothing in this record points to this reason.
No recorded reason
RNAWiki has nothing stored that would explain it. Nothing in this record points to this reason.

None of these is a reason to take more. Taking more is not a step this page ever suggests.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What taking it involves

The recorded facts about getting hold of it and using it. Nothing here is a suggestion about what you should do.

How it is supplied

Varies by country

Quoted from a source

Where this came from

Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.

Read from the recorded approval status.

No source is stored against this line.

Form and route

Oral

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The form and route recorded on this substance.

No source is stored against this line.

Who oversees it

Not usually supervised: sold as a supplement or food ingredient where recorded. That is a legal category, not a safety judgement.

Quoted from a source

Where this came from

Copied from a source RNAWiki stored, with the source named.

The identity record classes it as a botanical or organism preparation; no register records an approval.

No source is stored against this line.

What is in the pack

Sold as liquid, injection, solution, solution, lipstick, given by the oral, percutaneous, sublingual route.

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

Recorded notes on how this is sold and what that means for what is in the pack.

No source is stored against this line.

Where it is registered

Regulatory records are listed in the technical disclosure at the foot of this page.

Counted from records

Where this came from

A count of rows RNAWiki holds. It describes our records, not your body.

Register entries are stored per jurisdiction and shown with their dates.

No source is stored against this line.

Why people stop

Not recorded.

Nothing recorded

Where this came from

RNAWiki holds nothing here and says so rather than guessing.

No record of why people stopped taking it is stored for this substance.

No source is stored against this line.

What it would be like to takeNothing found in the sources checked

What can go wrong

Sorted by where each line came from. A regulator's label and a report somebody sent in are not the same kind of fact.

Nothing found in the sources checked

No harm is recorded against this substance in the sources RNAWiki checked. Finding nothing is not the same as showing there is nothing.

The sources listed were searched and held nothing. That is not the same as nothing existing.

Reports sent to a regulator

  • These are reports people sent to a regulator. They do not show the medicine caused the reaction.
  • Nobody counted how many people took the medicine and reported nothing.
  • The same event can be reported more than once, and many reports are incomplete.
  • News coverage, lawsuits and new warnings change how often people report.
  • A count is not a rate and not a risk.

Cacao appears in spontaneous reports to regulators. Across the 1 most-reported reaction terms, 2 reaction mentions were counted. One report can name several reactions.

The recorded terms (1)
  • administration site discolouration — 2 reaction mentions
  • open-targets-adr · recorded 2026-06-24 · a recorded source, not a stored snapshot

Over a long time. No completed tested study window is recorded, so long-term effects are not established by the registry record.

Groups the studies covered thinly. Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded for this substance. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, older adults, and people with liver or kidney conditions are commonly excluded from trials; nothing here says whether they were.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Does the exact form matter?

Evidence belongs to the exact thing that was tested. A different salt, a different mixture or a different preparation is a different question.

The form that was studied

Oral

Source-linked record

Where this came from

A person wrote this into the record with the study named beside it. No reviewer has signed it off.

The form used in the studies cited on this page.

No source is stored against this line.

What is sold

Not recorded.

Nothing recorded

Where this came from

RNAWiki holds nothing here and says so rather than guessing.

Nothing further is recorded about which forms are sold.

No source is stored against this line.

What is recorded as being sold

  • 16 products list this as an active ingredient in the United States drug directory. 1 of them contain it and nothing else.

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 58264-0296 · read 2026-08-29

  • They are sold as injection, solution, lipstick, liquid and solution, taken oral, percutaneous, sublingual and topical.

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 58264-0296 · read 2026-08-29

  • The regulator's established pharmacologic class for it is allergens [cs], cell-mediated immunity [pe] and dietary proteins [cs].

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 58264-0296 · read 2026-08-29

  • 15 published labels name it as an active ingredient. None of them describes this substance alone, so no label text on this page can be attributed to it rather than to a combination.

    US prescribing information · 05341147-789a-4844-9412-6a3044e5eb18 · read 2026-08-29

  • Those labels are classed as human otc drug.

    US prescribing information · 05341147-789a-4844-9412-6a3044e5eb18 · read 2026-08-29

  • 1792 marketed supplement labels list this ingredient, classed as amino acid/protein, botanical, botanical with nutrients and other combinations.

    NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · 1242 · read 2026-08-29

  • Those labels carry all other, nutrient and structure/function claims. A claim of that kind is written by the manufacturer and is not assessed by any regulator, so its presence says nothing about whether it is true.

    NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database · 1242 · read 2026-08-29

Evidence carries across two names for one substance. It does not carry across a salt, a mirror form or a mixture.

What it would be like to takeRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What you could measure

Watching one thing carefully can tell you whether it moved. It cannot tell you what moved it.

This is sold without a prescription, so a person can sensibly watch one thing and see whether it moves.

  1. Pick one goal. One goal only. Two at once cannot be told apart afterwards.

  2. Pick one thing to watch. Registered studies measured things like: insulin resistance lipid profile; insulin sensitivity; body composition.

  3. Measure before you start. Take the same measurement several times first. One reading is not a starting point.

  4. Know the swing. Write down how much it moves on its own across a normal week.

  5. Change one thing. Change nothing else at the same time, including training and sleep.

  6. Give it the study length. No finished study window is recorded, so no length is suggested here.

  7. Track whether you took it. Missed days are the most common reason a home test shows nothing.

  8. Read the trend. Look at the line across weeks. A single reading tells you almost nothing.

What not to measure

  • Anything that swings more day to day than the change you are looking for.
  • A wearable estimate of sleep stages, which is an estimate and not a measurement.
  • Weight on one morning, which mostly records water.
  • A feeling you did not write down before starting.

When to stop

  • Stop if something new and unpleasant starts, and ask a pharmacist or doctor.
  • Stop if you cannot keep everything else steady, because the result will not mean anything.
  • Stop at the end of the window you set, and read the trend then.

Tracking can show whether something changed for you. It cannot show what caused it.

RNAWiki does not work out an amount for anyone.

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What nobody knows yet

Open questions, each with why it is open and what would close it.

How much did people take in the studies?

The sources RNAWiki checked hold nothing for this field.

Why it matters. A result belongs to an amount. Without the amount the result floats free.

What would answer it

A stored source that records it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

How fast does the body clear it?

The sources RNAWiki checked hold nothing for this field.

Why it matters. Without this, nothing on this page can say how long anything lasts.

What would answer it

A stored source that records it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing populations

Which groups were under-represented in the studies has not been recorded.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing long-term data

No completed tested study window is recorded.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

No reviewed conclusion

RNAWiki has not yet published a reviewed conclusion for this use.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Missing interaction studies

No interaction was found in the registers checked. Not finding one is not the same as showing there is none.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

Mechanism not reviewed

No reviewed mechanism story exists for this substance.

Why it matters. Recorded by the evidence model as a gap on this record.

What would answer it

A study that measures it, and a reviewer to sign it off.

Last checked 2026-09-04. Searched: The sources listed in the receipts at the foot of this page.

What happened in peopleRead from sources, not yet reviewed

Check any of this yourself

Every line above traced back to the study it came from. This is the technical layer, and the vocabulary changes here.

Where else this substance is registered

FDA substance identifier (UNII)
D9108TZ9KG
ChEMBL
CHEMBL2108921
RxNorm concept
1373895
DrugBank
DB10977

Checks this page had to pass

  • Passed

    Identity resolved

    no open identity hold

  • Passed

    No unresolved merge across substance families

    no quarantine open

  • Not passed

    Every public sentence names a source

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    The identity record classes it as a botanical or organism preparation; no register records an approval.

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What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

How this medicine reached us

Kept near the foot of the page. A historical event moves up only when it changes something about this substance today.

What the approval register records

  • The earliest marketing start date recorded for a listed product is 19840815.

    FDA National Drug Code directory · 58264-0296 · read 2026-08-29

What is missing or unclearRead from sources, not yet reviewed

What to learn next

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What is not here

6 questions this page could not answer

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Recorded evidence blocks (13)

What did Cacao's largest trial (228 people) and its longest (4.4 years) measure?


228 people in Cacao's largest registered study, 4.4 years in its longest registered window, measuring Sarcopenic index. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

19 na, 4 na or unstated, 3 phase1, 2 phase2, 1 phase4; NCT00825695; 2013-06. Last human test completed 2024, NCT05247034.

Interpretation These counts include studies where Cacao was a comparison treatment, a background treatment or an exposure in an observational study, and the longest window may be a planned end date. Trial roles have not yet been classified for this record.

Show the evidence
  • na
    19
  • na or unstated
    4
  • phase1
    3
  • phase2
    2
  • phase4
    1
  • Last recorded human test NCT05247034
    2024-09-03

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

From yeast to human: where has Cacao shown lifespan?


C. elegans: lifespan, Drosophila: lifespan, yeast: lifespan, mouse: lifespan, rat: lifespan, dog: lifespan and human: healthspan (27): the rungs where Cacao has a recorded finding. Europe PMC and ClinicalTrials.gov · organism ladder · 2026-09-01

Interpretation Sarcopenic index — the recorded outcome words.

Yeast lifespanC. elegans lifespanDrosophila lifespanMouse lifespanRat lifespanDog lifespanNon-human primate Human healthspan
Show the evidence
  • C. elegans
    lifespan
  • Drosophila
    lifespan
  • yeast
    lifespan
  • mouse
    lifespan
  • rat
    lifespan
  • dog
    lifespan
1 more recorded row
  • human NCT01890070
    healthspan; Sarcopenic index; 27

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Why did Cacao's trial NCT02758990 stop?


1 recorded trial of Cacao stopped. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

"Recruiting and financial constraints"; 1 of 27 registered studies

Show the evidence
  • Trial NCT02758990
    terminated; "Recruiting and financial constraints"

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Did Cacao move DunedinPACE, and by how much?


DunedinPACE: "This prespecified ancillary study evaluated the 2-year effect of a daily MVM (Centrum Silver) and cocoa extract (500 mg cocoa flavanols per day, including 80 mg (-)-epicatechin) on five DNA methylation measures of biological aging (PCHannum, PCHorvath, PCPhenoAge, PCGrimAge and DunedinPACE) among 958 participants (482…" Europe PMC · epigenetic clock search · 2026-03-09

2 recorded sentences; 2026; biomarker

Show the evidence
  • DunedinPACE PMID 41803341
    2026; "This prespecified ancillary study evaluated the 2-year effect of a daily MVM (Centrum Silver) and cocoa extract (500 mg cocoa flavanols per day, including 80 mg (-)-epicatechin) on five DNA methylation measures of biological aging (PCHannum, PCHorvath, PCPhenoAge, PCGrimAge and DunedinPACE) among 958 participants (482 women and 476 men) in the COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study…"
  • epigenetic clock PMID 41803341
    2026; "Cocoa extract did not have an effect on the five epigenetic clocks tested."

recorded 2026-03-09 · last checked 2026-09-04

Could one person measure Cacao's effect on endothelial function?


Endothelial function: measured in Cacao's trials.

Interpretation endothelial function is the recorded endpoint.

Show the evidence

biomarkers

  • endothelial function; 2026-09-01
  • hemodynamic measurements; 2026-09-01
  • functional transcranial doppler measures; 2026-09-01
  • blood lipids; 2026-09-01
  • correct responses on serial 7 subtraction task; 2026-09-01
  • performance on bakan task; 2026-09-01
11 more recorded rows
  • biomarkers
    insulin resistance lipid profile; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    sarcopenic index; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    insulin sensitivity; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    frequency of correct predictions; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    six minute walk distance; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    nutritional status; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    body composition; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    fecal microbiota; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    p2y12 reaction; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    toronto clinical scoring system; 2026-09-01
  • biomarkers
    insulin resistance at 3 months; 2026-09-01
  • human trials at or under30
    14
  • Not recorded for this substance
    a recorded half-life
  • smallest human trial
    13; NCT01259739; NA; the smallest recorded human enrolment at or below 30; the registry states no direction of its result; COMPLETED

Which of blood lipids, body composition and correct responses on serial 7 subtraction task did Cacao's trials measure?


blood lipids, body composition and correct responses on serial 7 subtraction task lead 17 outcome terms across Cacao's trials. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

blood lipids, correct responses on serial 7 subtraction task, performance on bakan task, insulin resistance lipid profile, sarcopenic index and insulin sensitivity follow.

Show the evidence
  • endothelial function
    1
  • hemodynamic measurements
    1
  • functional transcranial doppler measures
    1
  • blood lipids
    1
  • correct responses on serial 7 subtraction task
    1
  • performance on bakan task
    1
11 more recorded rows
  • insulin resistance lipid profile
    1
  • sarcopenic index
    1
  • insulin sensitivity
    1
  • frequency of correct predictions
    1
  • six minute walk distance
    1
  • nutritional status
    1
  • body composition
    1
  • fecal microbiota
    1
  • p2y12 reaction
    1
  • toronto clinical scoring system
    1
  • insulin resistance at 3 months
    1

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

What will the one ongoing trial of Cacao report, and when?


1 registered trial of Cacao is open; earliest completion 2025-06. ClinicalTrials.gov · 2026-09-01

Change from baseline in Insulin Resistance (IR) at 3 months

Show the evidence
  • Trial NCT06769035
    "Effect of a Food Supplement with Natural Extracts of Cocoa, Amaranth Seed and Ginger in Overweight or Obese Patients"; n 40; "Change from baseline in Insulin Resistance (IR) at 3 months"; 2025-06

recorded 2026-09-01 · last checked 2026-09-04

Which running trial of Cacao could settle insulin sensitivity?


NCT06769035 measures Change from baseline in Insulin Resistance (IR) at 3 months, reading out 2025-06.

1 open trial; n 40; "Effect of a Food Supplement with Natural Extracts of Cocoa, Amaranth Seed and Ginger in Overweight or Obese Patients"

Show the evidence
  • Trial NCT06769035
    "Effect of a Food Supplement with Natural Extracts of Cocoa, Amaranth Seed and Ginger in Overweight or Obese Patients"; n 40; "Change from baseline in Insulin Resistance (IR) at 3 months"; 2025-06

Which 18 trials of Cacao posted no result?


Posted no result
18 of 18 completed trials
Registrations
NCT00538083, NCT00639665, NCT01314924, NCT01507259, NCT01064583 and NCT01412320, and 12 more
Completion dates
oldest 2006-05; newest 2022-06-30
Show the evidence

Trial

  • NCT00538083
    2006-05
  • NCT00639665
    2011-06
  • NCT01314924
    2011-09
  • NCT01507259
    2012-02
  • NCT01064583
    2012-12
  • NCT01412320
    2012-12
12 further recorded trials
  • NCT01681394
    2013-02
  • NCT00825695
    2013-06
  • NCT01754662
    2013-06
  • NCT01259739
    2013-11
  • NCT02845622
    2015-03
  • NCT02203240
    2016-05
  • NCT03364413
    2018-03-02
  • NCT03288155
    2019-01-01
  • NCT04367493
    2019-07-30
  • NCT04037020
    2019-09-05
  • NCT04444388
    2020-10-01
  • NCT04554901
    2022-06-30

At the median, Cacao's trials enrolled 30 people — anything larger?


Median enrolment
30
Largest enrolment
228
Registered trials counted
27

What do 2 spontaneous reports say about Cacao — and not say?


These are reports people sent to a regulator. They do not show the medicine caused the reaction. Nobody counted how many people took the medicine and reported nothing. The same event can be reported more than once, and many reports are incomplete. News coverage, lawsuits and new warnings change how often people report. A count is not a rate and not a risk.

Cacao appears in spontaneous reports to regulators. Across the 1 most-reported reaction term, 2 reaction mentions were counted: administration site discolouration 2. open-targets-adr · CHEMBL2108233 · 2026-06-24

Show the evidence
  • administration site discolouration
    2

recorded 2026-06-24 · last checked 2026-09-04

Was Cacao studied with fasting and exercise?


fasting and exercise are named in Cacao's label sentences: "Fasting glucose and HbA1c levels decreased in the placebo group by 38 mg/dL (0.28%) but were not significantly different from the cocoa group (<i>p</i> > 0.05)." openfda-label+europepmc · 2025-08-20

2 recorded statements; fasting, exercise

Show the evidence
  • fasting
    Fasting glucose and HbA1c levels decreased in the placebo group by 38 mg/dL (0.28%) but were not significantly different from the cocoa group (<i>p</i> > 0.05).
  • exercise
    Participants consumed either 85% dark chocolate or milk chocolate (1 g/kg body weight) before high-intensity resistance exercise during the early follicular (days 2-5) and mid-luteal (days 18-24) phases of two menstrual cycles.

recorded 2025-08-20 · last checked 2026-09-04

What is recorded about Cacao and sirtuin?


"These results indicate that cocoa protects against oxidative damage through Sirtuins." — where Cacao and sirtuin appear together. Europe PMC · pathway abstract search · 2025-08-26

sirtuin, autophagy, NAD+, IGF-1, mTOR, AMPK; PMID 40835803, 40875701, 39525389, 33711421

Show the evidence

sirtuin

  • PMID 40835803
    "These results indicate that cocoa protects against oxidative damage through Sirtuins."
  • PMID 40875701
    "Current therapeutic strategies leverage SIRT3's pleiotropic functions through natural compounds: gastrodin (mitochondrial membrane stabilization), cocoa polyphenols (FOXO3-mediated antioxidant enhancement), and baicalein (anti-fibrotic signaling blockade)."
  • autophagy PMID 39525389
    "The present study demonstrates that the supplementation with the cocoa bean shell extract (CBSE) strongly improves the longevity of yeast cells expressing α-syn, reducing the level of reactive oxygen species, activating autophagy and reducing the intracellular protein aggresomes."
  • sirtuin PMID 33711421
    "We also found that the hepatic protein expression of sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), and mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor g coactivator (PGC) 1a, nuclear respiratory factor 1, and forkhead box O3 were higher in cocoa-treated mice compared to HF-fed controls."
  • NAD+ PMID 38189132
    "Increases in nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) target antioxidants heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 (NQO1) in the cocoa group were significantly associated with reduced accumulation of central nuclei, a myopathy indicator, in type II muscle fibers (<i>P</i> = 0.017 and <i>P</i> = 0.023, respectively)."
  • autophagy PMID 31773121
    "Moreover, in ZDF rats cocoa-rich diet contributed to alleviation of the renal cortical injury through autophagy activation (p62 upregulation, and downregulation of beclin-1 and LC3), and inhibition of apoptosis (Bcl-xL stimulation and suppression of Bax and caspases-9 and -3)."
  • IGF-1 PMID 34290507
    "Early-start supplementation is essential for cocoa-mediated lifespan extension which is dependent on insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway and mitochondrial respiration."
  • mTOR PMID 31736460
    "Here we investigated whether putatively interfering with synaptic plasticity using the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, rapamycin, could weaken retrieved chocolate reward memories through blockade of reconsolidation."
1 more recorded row
  • AMPK PMID 30719284
    "In conclusion, cacao liquor procyanidins prevent hyperglycaemia by promoting GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle, and both the GLP-1-activated insulin pathway and the AMPK pathway are involved in the underlying molecular mechanism."

recorded 2025-08-26 · last checked 2026-09-04

Where it is registered
Identifiers, relations and other names

The exact record

ChEMBL id
CHEMBL2108233
RxCUI
1373895
Also called
COCOA, Cacao minar whole, Cacao whole, Chocolate, Theobroma cacao, Theobroma cacao whole, Theobroma caribaea whole, Theobroma integerrima whole, Theobroma kalagua whole, Theobroma saltzmanniana whole, AE-CHOCOLATE, AE-COCOA
Development code
B1318 [LANGUAL]
Sources (10)

Sources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 snapshot 2026-09-01T09:00:05 ·
  • this record's own fields 2,3,5 ·
  • Europe PMC dose-response search ·
  • Europe PMC epigenetic clock search ·
  • Europe PMC pathway abstract search ·
  • Europe PMC search ·
4 more sources

ClinicalTrials.gov — US Government work · Europe PMC — metadata only, under the recorded legal gate · Open Targets 26.06 — CC0 · derived from this page's own recorded fields; no external licence · mixed register set; per-register licences in docs/specs/corpus-20k-sources.md · openFDA / DailyMed — US Government work

How these records are assembled · Which registers were checked

Index-quality checks
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  • required summary fields resolved: 5 required field(s) not terminal: Why people use it, Best-supported result, Most important common problem, Biggest unanswered question, Human evidence
  • public claims reviewed: 0 reviewed claim(s); drafts are never rendered
  • source coverage passed: 10 source rows
  • no critical contamination: no quarantine open
  • canonical metadata passed: slug and display name present
  • no raw internal fields: enforced by the copy-contract test over the rendered page

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