Long-Term Cocoa Supplementation Improves Healthspan and Extends Lifespan in C. elegans

Munasinghea M, Almotayria A, Thomasa J, Heydariana D, Weerasingheb M, Joisa M. Cocoa improves age-associated health and extends lifespan in C. elegans. Nutrit Health Aging 2021;6(1):73-86. doi: 10.3233/NHA-200100.

Background: Cocoa is a rich source of polyphenols with antioxidant properties that may protect against age-related diseases. However, the long-term effects of cocoa consumption on aging and lifespan are not well understood. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely used model for aging studies due to its short lifespan and well-characterized physiological changes with age.

Hypothesis: This study hypothesized that long-term cocoa supplementation would improve age-associated health parameters and extend the lifespan of C. elegans.

Methods: The authors supplemented the standard E. coli OP50 diet of wild-type C. elegans with cocoa powder from the L1 stage until death. Body length and area were measured as nutritional indicators, and age-related health was assessed at days 4, 8 and 12 through locomotion, thermotolerance, learning, short-term memory and mitochondrial function tests. Lifespan was recorded under different cocoa concentrations. Worm movement was analyzed using WormLab.

Results: Cocoa-supplemented worms were significantly longer and thicker than controls. Mean and median lifespan increased by up to 8.3% and 7.8%, respectively, though maximum lifespan was unchanged. Cocoa improved thermotolerance, particularly in young and middle-aged worms, and enhanced learning ability and mitochondrial respiration at both early and late life stages while reducing non-mitochondrial respiration in aged worms.

Conclusions: Cocoa supplementation improved neuromuscular, cognitive and mitochondrial function and extended average lifespan in C. elegans, suggesting protective effects against age-associated decline likely mediated by cocoa’s antioxidant polyphenols.