Research from King’s College London has found that the chemical theobromine, a common plant compound that comes from cocoa, could have anti-ageing properties.
The study compared levels of theobromine in people’s blood with blood-based markers of biological ageing.
Biological age markers indicate how old your body seems based on its health and function, as opposed to the years you have lived. These markers are based on patterns of small ‘bookmarks’ on our DNA, called methylation, that change over the course of our lives.
Across two European cohorts, which included 509 individuals from TwinsUK and 1,160 from KORA, the research found that those who had higher theobromine circulating in their blood had a biological age that was lower than their actual age.
The team also tested whether other metabolites in cocoa and coffee showed a similar link. However, they found that the effect seemed to be specific to theobromine.
The researchers used two tests to assess the biological age of people in the study. One looked at chemical changes in DNA to estimate how quickly someone is ageing. Another estimated the length of telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of your chromosomes. Shorter telomeres are associated with ageing and age-related diseases.
Plant compounds in our diet may affect how our bodies age by changing the way our genes are switched on or off. Some of these compounds, called alkaloids, can interact with the cellular machinery that controls gene activity and helps shape health and longevity.
Theobromine, an alkaloid most commonly known as being poisonous to dogs, has been linked to health benefits in humans, such as a lower risk of heart disease. However, it has otherwise not been intensely investigated.
“This is a very exciting finding, and the next important questions are what is behind this association and how can we explore the interactions between dietary metabolites and our epigenome further? This approach could lead us to important discoveries towards ageing, and beyond, in common and rare diseases,” said Dr Ramy Saad, Lead Researcher at King’s College London.
The research team, including Professor Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, who is a Professor of Human Nutrition at King’s College London, is exploring avenues for future work to dissect these results. One open question is whether the effect is unique to theobromine alone or whether theobromine may interact with other compounds in dark chocolate, such as polyphenols, which are known to have beneficial effects on human health.
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