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Short-term Cocoa Supplementation and Elite Soccer Players

NCT06073327 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 38

Last updated 2023-10-10

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this interventional study was to investigate the impact of daily ingestion of 30g of dark chocolate on omega-3 fatty acid status and gut microbial community in professional soccer players.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Can 30g of dark chocolate positively influence the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) and, particularly, arachidonic acid (AA): eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio? Can 30g of dark chocolate change the microbial composition in professional soccer players? Elite male soccer players were randomly divided into 2 groups. One group was provided with 30g of dark chocolate 88% (2,5 mg/g of polyphenol) and one group, as control, was provided with with 30g of white chocolate (0 mg/g of polyphenol). Each group ingested the chocolate intervention as a "solid bar" in the morning (before 9:00 am) every day for 4 weeks. The dark chocolate and white chocolate were provided every morning to each subject by the nutritionist of each team, while, during off days, the chocolate was portioned into individual serving sizes and provided to each player. Adherence was checked by the nutritionist.

For each assessment, the participants arrived at the training center in the morning, after an overnight fast. Before the beginning and the end of the study, a 3-days food record (3dr) was recorded (2 weekdays and 1 week-end day) by the nutritionist. Blood was collected between 08:00 and 09:00 hours, fecal sample was delivered within the end of the morning, and anthropometry measures were determined.

Conditions

  • Dyslipidemias
  • Fatty Acid; Metabolic Disorder

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

dark chocolate

30g of dark or white chocolate was provided by the nutritionist for 30 days

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

White chocolate

30g of white chocolate was provided by the nutritionist for 30 days

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Padova

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Antonio Paoli, MD · University of Padova

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
38 Years
Sex
MALE
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-05-03
Primary Completion
2023-05-03
Completion
2023-05-03

Countries

  • Italy

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06073327 on ClinicalTrials.gov