 Vitamin rethink on the cards?
Epicatechin, a compound found in tea, wine, chocolate and cocoa should be considered a vitamin |
 Epicatechin, a compound found in tea, wine, chocolate and cocoa is so important to the diet, it should be considered a vitamin. So says Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, who has spent the last several years exploring the beneficial effects of cocoa drinking on the indigenous Kuna people of Panama. And he is not alone. Other experts say that the results of Hollenberg’s Kuna studies, although observational, are so impressive, that they could warrant a rethink of how we define vitamins. Adding to the list of vitamins – there are only 13 – could see an expansion in what is already a booming market. In the US alone, $7bn (€5.3bn) is spent on vitamins every year.
Hollenberg’s most recent study revealed that the risk of four of the five most common killer diseases: stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes, is reduced to less then 10% in the Kuna. They drink as much as 40 cups of natural cocoa, which is high in epicatechin, each week. In each age group over 55, there are twice as many Kuna as non-Kuna, and there is no dementia. ‘If these observations predict the future, then we can say without blushing that they are among the most important observations in the history of medicine,’ Hollenberg said. In fact, Hollenberg said epicatechin is arguably more important even than penicillin.
However, as things stand epicatechin does not qualify as a vitamin. ‘Vitamins are defined as being essential to the normal functioning, metabolism, regulation and growth of cells,’ explained Daniel Fabricant, vice president of scientific affairs at the Natural Products Association, a US group representing manufacturers and distributors of vitamins and natural products. ‘At the moment, the science does not support epicatechin having an essential role,’ he said. In addition, vitamin deficiency is usually associated with disease. But, Fabricant added, ‘the link between high epicatechin consumption and a decreased risk of killer disease is so striking, it is something that should be investigated further. It may be that these diseases are the result of epicatechin deficiency and that we need to rethink how we define vitamins.’ For the time being, Fabricant suggests that phytonutrient may be a more appropriate term, as epicatechin promotes health but it remains to be seen whether it is strictly essential.
Proving the epicatechin link to killer diseases would require several years of placebo-controlled randomised trials costing millions. Pharmaceutical companies won’t invest, because epicatechin is a natural product and so they can not patent it.
But both Fabricant and Hollenberg agree that epicatechin could represent a major new opportunity for nutritional companies. ‘There are opportunities to develop high-flavanol cocoa varieties or supplements. Cocoa is already really popular, but no doubt some people would prefer to get their epicatechin in capsule form,’ Hollenberg said. ‘We could see a massive expansion in the market and a lot of money changing hands,’ he said.
Ingestion of flavanols like epicatechin is thought to cause acute elevations in levels of circulating nitric oxide (NO) species, improving blood vessel function and blood flow to the brain. Heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer are all known to be NO-sensitive processes, as is impotence (Int. J. Med. Sci 2007, 4, 53). ‘The Kuna claim potency until the day they die, but who knows if that is true,’ said Hollenberg.
Hollenberg is scientific advisor to several pharmaceutical majors, including GSK, Merck, Novartis, AstraZeneca and BMS.
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