Absorption and urinary excretion of (-)-epicatechin after administration of different levels of cocoa powder or (-)-epicatechin in rats.
(-)-Epicatechin is a major polyphenol component of cocoa powder. The absorption and urinary excretion of (-)-epicatechin following administration of different levels of either cocoa powder (150, 750, and 1500 mg/kg) or (-)-epicatechin (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) were evaluated in rats. Both the sum of plasma (-)-epicatechin metabolites at 1 h postadministration and peak plasma concentrations increased in a dose-dependent fashion. The sum of (-)-epicatechin metabolites in urine, excreted within 18 h postadministration, also increased with dose. Moreover, the sum of (-)-epicatechin metabolites excreted in urine reached the same level in both (-)-epicatechin and cocoa powder administration groups for equivalent amounts of (-)-epicatechin. These results suggest that, in the dose range examined in this study, bioavailability of (-)-epicatechin following administration of either (-)-epicatechin or cocoa powder shows dose dependence and that the various compounds present in cocoa powder have little effect on the bioavailability of (-)-epicatechin in cocoa powder.
Baba
S
S
Functional Foods Research and Development Laboratories, Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd., 5-3-1 Chiyoda, Sakado-shi, Saitama 350-0289, Japan. seigo_baba@meiji.co.jp
Osakabe
N
N
Natsume
M
M
Muto
Y
Y
Takizawa
T
T
Terao
J
J
D000818:Animals; D002099:Cacao / Q000737:chemistry*; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D008054:Lipid Peroxides / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D008054:Lipid Peroxides; D002392:Catechin