Zinc plus chocolate: powerful cell protection

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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In combination with zinc, cocoa, coffee and tea have an amazing effect: They slow down aging processes and protect against diseases.

Body cells age daily, and so do humans. The processes are accelerated by aggressive oxygen molecules, so-called free radicals. They not only make the skin wrinkle, but also provoke chronic inflammatory processes and damage the genetic make-up. As a result, they favor diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, but also cancer.

Hyperoxide - aggressive oxygen compound

Nobody can avoid such free radicals: They are formed, among other things, during vital metabolic processes in the body. This also includes the particularly reactive hyperoxides.The body itself has antidotes ready against these aggressive oxygen species: so-called superoxide dismutase enzymes (SOD) render the molecules harmless.

Healthy duo: zinc and plant ingredients

Researchers led by Prof. Ivana Ivanovic-Burmazovi from the University of Erlangen have now found that complexes of zinc and polyphenols can imitate this protective effect. Polyphenols are health-promoting plant substances found in coffee, tea, wine and chocolate. They give them their scent and aroma.

"Polyphenols act as free radical scavengers", says the head of the chair for bioinorganic chemistry at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in an interview with In combination with zinc, however, they work much more effectively. Zinc works as a catalyst - with the help of the metal, even small amounts of polyphenols can render large amounts of aggressive hyperoxide harmless. It is converted into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide.

Zinc tablet to cocoa

So far, the researchers have only observed this in the laboratory when they docked zinc directly to the plant substances. “We don't yet know for sure whether this will also work if you take a zinc tablet with a cup of cocoa,” says Ivanovic-Burmazovi. However, there are clear indications for this. Trying it out doesn't do any harm - the chances are good that it will help. However, one should refrain from combining wine. It also contains polyphenols. "The alcohol it contains promotes oxidative stress," says the biochemist.

The teamwork with polyphenols could also explain why zinc prevents colds and shortens the duration of illness in the event of an infection. Zinc alone is probably not involved here either.

Can the consequences of diabetes and cardiovascular disease be reduced?

The protective effect of zinc and plant substances could possibly also be used to favorably influence the course of chronic diseases: Medicines with an active ingredient combination of zinc and polyphenols could protect diabetics from kidney or nerve damage and people with high blood pressure from a stroke. "We want to check how promising this is in subsequent investigations," says Ivanovic-Burmazovi.

Another vision for the future: foods such as chocolate, coffee & Co. could be fortified with zinc. In this way, they could have a stronger health-promoting effect and slow down aging processes, according to the researchers.

Incidentally, other metals such as nickel, copper, manganese and iron also have a similar effect to zinc. Consumed in too large quantities, however, they can have a harmful effect and are therefore less suitable as admixtures. "In comparison, zinc is better tolerated," says Ivanovic-Burmazovi.

Free radicals favor disease

Free radicals are created in the cells during natural metabolic processes. If the mitochondria, the tiny power plants of the cells, are overloaded, they form these more intensely. Likewise, more free radicals are formed when exposed to heat or solar radiation, X-rays, cigarette smoke and environmental toxins.

Free radicals like hyperoxide cause oxidative stress. The aggressive molecules and atoms contain an electron that lacks a binding partner. They are therefore highly reactive. Free radicals can trigger chain reactions that damage or even destroy molecules, cells and tissues. They turn helpful connections into troublemakers. The genetic makeup can also be damaged. Free radicals can possibly also promote degenerative nerve diseases or cause cells to degenerate into cancer.

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