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CompletedNCT04383639CACAOBAUpdated Nov 8, 2023

Cocoa/Carob Polyphenols and Postprandial Changes in Type 2 Diabetes

An interventional study of No product (A)/mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (B)/mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (C) in Type 2 Diabetes, sponsored by National Research Council, Spain. Completed at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-11-08.

Sponsored by National Research Council, Spain · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
40 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The aim of this is study is to evaluate the effects of a single intake of a mixture of cacao and carob (rich in high molecular weight polyphenols) in postprandial metabolism in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Studies on the effects of polyphenols on postprandial (glucidic and lipidic) metabolism have commonly been performed in animal models and have used food extracts, ignoring high molecular weight polyphenols as relevant bioactive compounds. In this study, the potential of this kind of polyphenols for regulating postprandial disturbances in type 2 diabetes subjects, since these alterations increased the cardiovascular risk in these subjects, will be evaluated. The study has been designed in order to differentially evaluate the effect of intact polyphenols and that of microbial-derived phenolic metabolites.

Read the detailed description

Twenty-five subjects with a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes will be recruited. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are provided below.

The whole intervention has been divided in 3 treatments A, B and C, performed every 2 weeks in randomized order for each subject. In every treatment, subjects will attend to the Unit of Human Nutrition of the ICTAN-CSIC in fasting state and they will receive a high-sugar high-fat breakfast. Treatment A will be used as control and will only consist of breakfast. Treatment B is characterized by the administration of a mixture of cocoa and carob solved in milk together with breakfast. In treatment C, volunteers will consume the same amount of product 10 hours before attending to their visit, where the breakfast will be administrated once again. Food and drinks provided in the three visits (including milk used in treatment B) will be similar. The aim of treatment B is to elucidate the role of intact polyphenols, while treatment C will evaluate the effect of microbial-derived polyphenol metabolites.

Blood samples will be collected before breakfast and at times 60-120-180-240-270 min. Urine will be collected during their permanence at the Unit of Human nutrition of the ICTAN-CSIC. Feces will be collected as soon as they are generated after receiving treatments A and C. The following determinations will be performed in blood samples collected at different periods: glucose, insulin, triglycerides, uric acid, GLP-1, hepatic enzymes. Urine and feces will be used to evaluate phenolic metabolites. Additionally, a satiety test will be provided. It is expected that cocoa and carob supplementation, as compared to the control treatment, causes significant modifications in all the parameters indicated. Nevertheless, the primary outcome of this study is the decrease in postprandial insulin.

02

Conditions studied

  • Type 2 Diabetes

Keywords

  • Polyphenols
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Cocoa
  • Carob
  • Postprandial response
  • Insulin resistance
  • Microbial metabolites
03

In context

Diabetes Mellitus

10,925 studies on the registry are indexed under Diabetes Mellitus; 1,319 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 20 is below the median of 80 across 8,367 interventional studies indexed under Diabetes Mellitus.

Browse Diabetes Mellitus studies →

Lead sponsor

National Research Council, Spain is the lead sponsor of 28 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
40 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Type 2 diabetes during the last 2 years and current treatment with metformin
  • Overweight or obesity (IMC = 26-40 kg/m2)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects with a pharmaceutical treatment set to modify blood pressure, lipid profile or glucose.
  • Subjects with diagnoses of cardiovascular diseases or thyroid diseases.
  • Values above the following ones: glucose, > 125 mg/dL; triglycerides, > 350 mg/dL; total cholesterol, > 280 mg/dL; systolic blood pressure, > 150 mmHg; diastolic blood pressure, > 100 mmHg
  • Previous bariatric surgery.
  • Volunteers currently participating in other studies or weight loss plans.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  • Adherence to vegetarian diets or usual consumption of dietary supplements.
  • Intolerance or allergy to some of the foods provided in the study
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
20 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    1

    All subjects will receive a high-fat high-sugar breakfast in three different days. They will not consume any additional product (1), they will receive the mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (2) or they will receive the mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (3).

    Other: No product (A)/mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (B)/mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (C)

  • Experimental
    2

    All subjects will receive a high-fat high-sugar breakfast in three different days. They will not consume any additional product (1), they will receive the mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (2) or they will receive the mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (3).

    Other: No product (A)/mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (B)/mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (C)

  • Experimental
    3

    All subjects will receive a high-fat high-sugar breakfast in three different days. They will not consume any additional product (1), they will receive the mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (2) or they will receive the mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (3).

    Other: No product (A)/mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (B)/mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (C)

Interventions

  • OtherNo product (A)/mixture of coca and carob together with breakfast (B)/mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast (C)

    The subjects will receive, after overnight fasting, a high-fat high-sugar breakfast. In treatment A, they will not receive any additional product; in treatment B, they will receive at the same time a mixture of coca and carob; in treatment C, they will receive the mixture of coca and carob 10 h before breakfast. A total of 6 blood samples will be collected during each visit: 0-30-60-120-180-240-270 min. Urine samples will be collected during the permanence of the subjects in the Unit of Human Nutrition. Feces will be collected the first time they are generated after treatments A and C. Both interventions will be separated by two weeks. Subjects will be instructed not to modify their dietary habits during the development of the study, but during the 72 h before each visit they will have to restrict the intake of polyphenol-rich foods (a detailed list will be provided).

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Postprandial insulin

    Changes of postprandial insulin as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob

    Time frame: Up to two months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Postprandial glucose

    Changes of blood glucose as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob.

    Time frame: Up to four months

  2. Postprandial triglycerides

    Changes of blood triglycerides as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob.

    Time frame: Up to four months

  3. Postprandial uric acid

    Changes of blood uric acid as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob.

    Time frame: Up to four months

  4. Postprandial GLP-1

    Changes of blood GLP-1 as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob.

    Time frame: Up to five months

  5. Postprandial phenolic metabolites

    Changes of urinary and fecal phenolic metabolites as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob.

    Time frame: Up to six months

  6. Satiety measured by a Visual Analogue Scale (see "Description" for details)

    Changes of satiety as result of supplementation with cocoa and carob. This will be determined by the CSS, composite satiety score. This is a value obtained from a formula once the subject has filled in, in a visual analogue scale, the answer to different questions regarding hunger and satiety. The answers go from 1 to 10 (each mark corresponding to a similar distance in the scale). The final CSS value goes also from 1 to 10, with 1 meaning the lowest satiety and 10 meaning the highest one.

    Time frame: Up to three months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Institute of Food Science, Technology and Nutrition, National Research Council (ICTAN-CSIC)
    Madrid, 28040, Spain
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 8, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04383639
Lead sponsor
National Research Council, Spain
Collaborators
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain
Responsible party
Jara Pérez-Jiménez (Principal Investigator, National Research Council, Spain) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 12, 2020
Start date
May 3, 2021
Primary completion
Feb 28, 2022
Completion
Jul 30, 2023
Last update
Nov 8, 2023

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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