Dark chocolate administration improves working memory in students
Abstract: Flavonoids have
positive effects on health, including the nervous system. High flavonoid
content can be found in chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Verbal working
memory is important for reasoning, language comprehension, planning, and
spatial processing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a
single dose of dark and white chocolate administration on verbal working memory
in medical students.
A study of experimental pre-post test design with controls was conducted
on 60 students. These were simply randomized into two groups: the first group
was supplemented with white chocolate as control, and the second group received
dark chocolate, at an identical single dose of 100 g. Working memory was
measured with the digit span forwards (DSF) and the digit span backwards (DSB)
tests, before, at 1 hour, and at 3 hours after intervention. Independent t and
Mann-Whitney tests were used for data analysis.
Scores for DSF and DSB in control and treatment groups were similar at
baseline. At 1 hour after dark and white chocolate administration, DSF and DSB
scores were not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.832;
p=0.683). Supplementation of dark chocolate at 3 hours after intervention
significantly increased DSB scores compared to white chocolate (p=0.041), but
DSF scores were not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.204).
Dark chocolate as a single dose is capable of improving verbal working
memory in students, 3 hours after its consumption. Since cocoa contains
multiple bioactive compounds, one approach might be to examine the
neurocognitive effects of combinations of potential functional ingredients.
Author: Nawanto Agung
Prastowo, Samuel Kristanto, Poppy Kristina Sasmita
Journal Code: jpkedokterangg150290