Dietary flavanols restore hippocampal-dependent memory in older adults with lower diet quality and habitual flavanol consumption

Dietary flavanols are food constituents found in certain fruits and vegetables that have been linked to cognitive aging. Previous studies suggested that consumption of dietary flavanols might specifically be linked to the hippocampal-dependent memory component of cognitive aging and that memory benefits of a flavanol intervention might depend on habitual diet quality. Here, we tested these hypotheses in the context of a large-scale study of 3,562 older adults, who were randomly assigned to a 3-y intervention of cocoa extract (500 mg of cocoa flavanols per day) or a placebo [(COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study) COSMOS-Web, NCT04582617]. Using the alternative healthy eating index in all participants and a urine-based biomarker of flavanol intake in a subset of participants [n = 1,361], we show that habitual flavanol consumption and diet quality at baseline are positively and selectively correlated with hippocampal-dependent memory. While the prespecified primary endpoint tes..., , SAS膳食黄烷醇（dietary flavanols）是存在于部分果蔬中的食品成分，与认知衰老存在关联。既往研究表明，膳食黄烷醇的摄入或与认知衰老中海马体依赖型记忆维度存在特异性关联，且黄烷醇干预带来的记忆获益可能依赖于个体的日常饮食质量。本研究针对3562名老年人开展大规模研究，旨在验证上述假说，将受试者随机分配至为期3年的可可提取物干预组（每日摄入500mg可可黄烷醇）或安慰剂组[可可补充剂与复合维生素结局研究（COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study, COSMOS-Web），临床试验注册号NCT04582617]。本研究对所有受试者采用替代健康饮食指数进行评估，并对1361名亚组受试者采用基于尿液的黄烷醇摄入生物标志物进行检测，结果显示，基线时的日常黄烷醇摄入水平与饮食质量，与海马体依赖型记忆呈正向特异性相关。尽管预先设定的主要终点测试……，SAS