Research from King’s College London has discovered that theobromine, a common plant compound derived from cocoa, may slow aging.

The study, published in the scientific journal Aging, analyzed theobromine levels in the blood and compared them with various blood markers of biological aging. In two European cohorts, including 509 participants from the TwinsUK project and 1,160 from the KORA study, it was determined that those with higher levels of circulating theobromine had a biological age lower than their chronological age.

To assess biological aging, the research team used two complementary methods. The first examined chemical changes in DNA, used to estimate the rate at which the body ages. The second measured the length of telomeres, structures that protect the ends of chromosomes and whose shortening is associated with cellular aging and an increased risk of age-related diseases.

Dr. Ramy Saad, lead researcher at King’s College London, who is also a researcher at University College London and holds a doctorate in Clinical Genetics, states that “this is a very exciting finding, and the next important questions are what is behind this association and how can we further explore the interactions between dietary metabolites and our epigenome? This approach could lead us to important discoveries regarding aging, and beyond, in common and rare diseases.”

The team is exploring future lines of research to analyze these findings. One of the main unknowns is whether the effect is exclusive to theobromine or whether this substance could interact with other compounds in dark chocolate, such as polyphenols, known for their beneficial health effects.

Despite these results, the researchers maintain that eating more dark chocolate does not automatically provide benefits, as this food, in addition to theobromine, also contains sugar, fat, and other components. Therefore, more research is needed to more precisely understand the relationship between cocoa consumption, theobromine, and biological aging.