Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K31/00—Medicinal preparations containing organic active ingredients
  • A61K31/33—Heterocyclic compounds
  • A61K31/335—Heterocyclic compounds having oxygen as the only ring hetero atom, e.g. fungichromin
  • A61K31/35—Heterocyclic compounds having oxygen as the only ring hetero atom, e.g. fungichromin having six-membered rings with one oxygen as the only ring hetero atom
  • A61K31/352—Heterocyclic compounds having oxygen as the only ring hetero atom, e.g. fungichromin having six-membered rings with one oxygen as the only ring hetero atom condensed with carbocyclic rings, e.g. methantheline 
  • A61K31/353—3,4-Dihydrobenzopyrans, e.g. chroman, catechin
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G1/00—Cocoa; Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
  • A23G1/30—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
  • A23G1/32—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds
  • A23G1/48—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor characterised by the composition containing organic or inorganic compounds containing plants or parts thereof, e.g. fruits, seeds or extracts
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G1/00—Cocoa; Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
  • A23G1/30—Cocoa products, e.g. chocolate; Substitutes therefor
  • A23G1/56—Liquid products; Solid products in the form of powders, flakes or granules for making liquid products, e.g. for making chocolate milk, drinks and the products for their preparation, pastes for spreading or milk crumb
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
  • A23L33/00—Modifying nutritive qualities of foods; Dietetic products; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L33/10—Modifying nutritive qualities of foods; Dietetic products; Preparation or treatment thereof using additives
  • A23L33/105—Plant extracts, their artificial duplicates or their derivatives
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K31/00—Medicinal preparations containing organic active ingredients
  • A61K31/70—Carbohydrates; Sugars; Derivatives thereof
  • A61K31/7042—Compounds having saccharide radicals and heterocyclic rings
  • A61K31/7048—Compounds having saccharide radicals and heterocyclic rings having oxygen as a ring hetero atom, e.g. leucoglucosan, hesperidin, erythromycin, nystatin, digitoxin or digoxin
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P25/00—Drugs for disorders of the nervous system
  • A61P25/28—Drugs for disorders of the nervous system for treating neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system, e.g. nootropic agents, cognition enhancers, drugs for treating Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P9/00—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P9/00—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system
  • A61P9/10—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system for treating ischaemic or atherosclerotic diseases, e.g. antianginal drugs, coronary vasodilators, drugs for myocardial infarction, retinopathy, cerebrovascula insufficiency, renal arteriosclerosis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23G—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF
  • A23G2200/00—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF containing organic compounds, e.g. synthetic flavouring agents
  • A23G2200/14—COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF containing organic compounds, e.g. synthetic flavouring agents containing fruits, nuts, e.g. almonds, seeds, plants, plant extracts or essential oils
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23V—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION
  • A23V2002/00—Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs

Definitions

• the invention relates to compositions, and methods of use thereof, for (i) enhancing executive cognitive functions (for example, decision making, planning, working memory, multitasking, judgment, numerical problem-solving, reading comprehension), and/or (ii) increasing blood flow in brain vasculature, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof, certain polyphenolic compounds described herein.
• executive cognitive functions for example, decision making, planning, working memory, multitasking, judgment, numerical problem-solving, reading comprehension
• Magnetic resonance imaging is an imaging technique that is based on the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a spectroscopic technique used to obtain microscopic chemical and physical information about molecules.
• NMR nuclear magnetic resonance
• MRI is used primarily in medical settings to produce high quality images of the inside of the human body.
• MRI systems can also image flowing blood in virtually any part of the body. This allows for studies that show the arterial system in the body, but not the tissue around it. In many cases, the MRI system can do this without a contrast injection, which is required in vascular radiology.
• fMRI Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• MR magnetic resonance
• BOLD blood oxygenation level dependent contrast
• ASL Arterial Spin Labeling
• MR magnetic resonance
• This invention relates to compositions, and methods of use thereof, for (i) enhancing executive cognitive function(s), and/or (ii) increasing blood flow in brain vasculature, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof certain polyphenolic compounds described herein.
• the invention relates to a composition, such as a pharmaceutical, a food, a food additive, or a dietary supplement comprising the compounds of the invention.
• the composition may optionally contain an additional cognition-enhancing/improving agent, or may be administered in combination with an additional cognition- enhancing/improving agent.
• Packaged products containing the above-mentioned compositions and a label and/or instructions for use to enhance/improve mental cognition and/or treat/prevent conditions that are associated with declining mental cognition are also within the scope of the invention.
• the invention relates to method of increasing brain activity (assessed for example by using the fMRI BOLD response) in certain regions of the brain comprising administering the compounds of the invention to a subject in need thereof.
• activated brain regions include the right-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the parietal cortex, and the anterior cingulate.
• the invention in another aspect, relates to a method of increasing blood flow to the brain (measured for example by using ASL) comprising administering the compounds of the invention to a subject in need thereof.
• Figure 1 shows mean reaction time ( ⁇ SEM) for the letter-digit task. Reaction times were averaged over all subjects.
• Figure 2(a) shows task-related activity in the 'switch' versus baseline condition for 'high flavanol'.
• Figure 2(b) shows task-related activity for the comparison between 'switch' and 'non-switch' conditions ('switch' versus baseline > 'non-switch' versus baseline) for 'high flavanol'.
• Figure 4(a-d) shows the effects of a cocoa drink supplemented with flavanols/procyanidins on a "Cognitive Demand Battery" of tests: (a) Threes Correct test; (b) Sevens Error test; (c) Rapid Visual Information Processing Task (RVIP); and (d) Mental fatigue.
• the present invention relates to compositions, products, and methods for (i) enhancing executive cognitive function(s), and/or (ii) increasing blood flow in brain vasculature, each comprising administering, to a subject in need thereof, certain polyphenolic compounds described herein.
• the compounds for use in the present invention include certain flavanols (flavan-3-ols), procyanidins, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts or derivatives thereof.
• Such compounds when of natural origin, may be included in the composition in the form of a cocoa component, for example cocoa nibs or fragments thereof, chocolate liquor, cocoa solids (e.g. partially or fully-defatted), cocoa extract or fraction thereof.
• procyanidin refers to an oligomer of the monomer shown above.
• cocoa component refers to a component derived from cocoa bean, e.g. cocoa nibs and fragments thereof, chocolate liquor, cocoa solids (e. g. partially and fully- defatted cake or powder), flavanol and/or procyanidin-containing cocoa extract or fraction thereof.
• the present invention relates to a flavanol (e.g. (-)- epicatechin and (+)-catechin), and a composition comprising an effective amount of the flavanol (e.g. (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives).
• a flavanol e.g. (-)- epicatechin and (+)-catechin
• a composition comprising an effective amount of the flavanol (e.g. (-)-epicatechin and (+)-catechin), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives).
• the derivatives may be prepared as described below.
• the present invention relates to a compound, and a composition comprising an effective amount of the compound, having the following formula A n , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives):
• n is an integer from 2 to 18; R and X each have either ⁇ or ⁇ stereochemistry; R is OH or O-sugar or O-gallate; the substituents of C-4, C-6 and C-8 are X, Z and Y, respectively, and bonding of monomeric units occurs at C-4, C-6 or C-8; when any C-4, C-6 or C-8 is not bonded to another monomeric unit, X, Y and Z independently are hydrogen or a sugar; and the sugar is optionally substituted with a phenolic moiety at any position, for instance, via an ester bond.
• Monomeric units in the formula A n may be bonded via 4-*6 ⁇ ; 4 - ⁇ 6 ⁇ ; 4— »8 ⁇ ; and/or 4 —>8 ⁇ linkages.
• the sugar is preferably a monosaccharide or a disaccharide.
• the sugar may be selected from the group consisting of glucose, galactose, rhamnose, xylose, and arabinose.
• the phenolic moiety may be selected from the group consisting of caffeic, cinnamic, coumaric, ferulic, gallic, hydroxybenzoic and sinapic acids.
• Derivatives may include esters such as the gallate esters; compounds derivatized with a saccharide moiety such as mono- or disaccharide moiety (e.g. ⁇ -D-glucose), glucuronidated and methylated derivatives, and oxidation products.
• ester derivatives are other than esters with gallic acid.
• Oxidation products may be prepared as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,645, the relevant portions of which are incorporated herein by reference.
• Esters, for example esters with gallic acid may be prepared using known esterification reactions, and for example as described in US Pat. No. 6,420,572, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
• Methylated derivatives such as 3'O-methyl-, 4'O- methyl-, and 3'O, 4'O-dimethyl- derivatives may be prepared, for example, as described in Cren-Olive et al, 2002, J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. 1, 821-830, and Donovan et al, Journal of Chromatography B, 726 (1999) 277-283, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
• Glucuronidated products may be prepared as described in Yu et al, "A novel and effective procedure for the preparation of glucuronides," Organic Letters, 2(16) (2000) 2539-41, and as in Spencer et al, “Contrasting influences of glucuronidation and O-methylation of epicatechin on hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in neurons and fibroblasts,” Free Radical Biology and Medicine 31(9) (2001) 1139-46, hereby incorporated herein by reference. It should be noted that this disclosure applies to all formulas recited herein.
• the invention relates to a compound, and the composition comprising an effective amount the compound having the formula A n , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives):
• n is an integer from 2 to 18;
• R and X each have either ⁇ or ⁇ stereochemistry
• R is OH; the substituents of C-4, C-6 and C-8 are X, Z and Y, respectively, and bonding of monomeric units occurs at C-4, C-6 and C-8; and when any C-4, C-6 or C-8 is not bonded to another monomeric unit, X, Y and Z are hydrogen.
• Examples of the compounds useful for the products and in the methods of the invention include the compounds of the formula A n described herein wherein the integer n is 3 to 18; 2 to 12; 3 to 12; 2 to 5; 4 to 12; 5 to 12; 4 to 10; or 5 to 10. In some embodiments, the integer n is 2 to 4, for example 2 or 3. This disclosure applies to any compound of formula A n herein.
• the invention relates to methods of (i) enhancing executive cognitive function(s) and/or (ii) increasing blood flow in brain vasculature.
• executive cognitive function is defined as a higher order cognitive capacity that plays a role in managing (like an “executive") other cognitive functions such as attention, language and memory.
• Examples of executive cognitive functions include decision-making, multi-tasking, working memory, performance of complex numerical calculations, reading comprehension.
• cogniation of cognitive function is defined as a measurable improvement of at least one of the executive cognitive functions.
• a person of skill in the art will select the known methods of measuring the improvement of cognitive functions, for example, methods described in the Examples.
• decline in cognitive abilities is defined as a deterioration of cognitive abilities in a healthy subject, for example an elderly/aged subject, i.e., as used herein "decline in cognitive abilities” is not referring to a neurodegenerative condition.
• a "healthy" subject is one who is not suffering from/has not been diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease.
• increasing blood flow refers to an increase in the amount of blood delivered to the tissue which may be expressed in terms of milliliters (ml) of blood per 100 ml of tissue per minute.
• Increasing blood flow in the brain refers to an increase in the volume of blood entering a unit volume of brain per unit of time.
• the present invention provides (i) a method of enhancing an executive cognitive function and/or (ii) a method of increasing blood flow to brain vasculature, each comprising administering to a mammal (e.g. human) or a veterinary animal in need thereof an effective amount of a flavanol such as epicatechin or catechin (e.g. (-)-epicatechin or (+)-catechin), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives).
• a mammal e.g. human
• a veterinary animal in need thereof an effective amount of a flavanol such as epicatechin or catechin (e.g. (-)-epicatechin or (+)-catechin), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives).
• veterinary animal refers to any animal cared for, or attended to by, a veterinarian, and includes
• the invention provides (i) a method of enhancing an executive cognitive function and/or (ii) a method of increasing blood flow to brain vasculature, each comprising administering to a mammal (e.g. human) or a veterinary animal in need thereof, a composition comprising an effective amount of a compound having the following formula A n , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives):
• n is an integer from 2 to 18; R and X each have either ⁇ or ⁇ stereochemistry; R is OH or O-sugar or O-gallate; the substituents of C-4, C-6 and C-8 are X, Z and Y, respectively, and bonding of monomelic units occurs at C-4, C-6 or C-8; when any C-4, C-6 or C-8 is not bonded to another monomeric unit, X, Y and Z independently are hydrogen or a sugar; and the sugar is optionally substituted with a phenolic moiety at any position, for instance, via an ester bond.
• the above method may involve use of a compound A n , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives and glucuronidated derivatives), wherein R is OH, and when any C- 4, C-6 or C-8 is not bonded to another monomelic unit, X, Y and Z are hydrogen.
• suitable sugars are as described above.
• phenolic moieties are as described above.
• derivatives are as described above.
• the invention provides (i) a method of enhancing an executive cognitive function and/or (ii) a method of increasing blood flow in brain vasculature, each comprising administering to a mammal (e.g. human) or a veterinary animal in need thereof, a composition comprising an effective amount of a compound having the formula A n , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives):
• n is an integer from 2 to 18;
• R and X each have either ⁇ or ⁇ stereochemistry
• R is OH; the substituents of C-4, C-6 and C-8 are X, Z and Y, respectively, and bonding of monomeric units occurs at C-4, C-6 and C-8; and when any C-4, C-6 or C-8 is not bonded to another monomeric unit, X, Y and Z are hydrogen.
• Examples of the compounds useful for the products and in the methods of the invention include the compounds described herein wherein the integer n is 3 to 18; 2 to 12; 3 to 12; 2 to 5; 4 to 12; 5 to 12; 4 to 10; or 5 to 10.
• the integer n is 2 to 4, for example 2 or 3. This disclosure applies to any compound of formula A n herein.
• a "subject in need thereof is a subject in imminent need of enhancement of cognitive function or a subject having a profession (or performing tasks) that require(s) constant utilization of executive cognitive function(s).
• Examples of subjects in need of enhancement of cognitive function(s) and/or increased brain blood flow will be apparent to those of skill in the art, for example subjects who will irnudinently participate in a competitive event (e.g. those appearing in an examination, competing in sporting/athletic events, attending a job interview); those addressing an audience/gathering (e.g. educators, politicians, live television-news anchors, reporters); entertainers (e.g.
• the present compounds may be administered orally in the form of a cocoa component, for example cocoa nibs or fragments thereof, chocolate liquor, cocoa solids (e.g. partially and fully-defatted cocoa solid, e.g. of cocoa solids is cocoa powder), cocoa extract or fraction thereof, or may be added independently of cocoa components.
• a cocoa component for example cocoa nibs or fragments thereof, chocolate liquor, cocoa solids (e.g. partially and fully-defatted cocoa solid, e.g. of cocoa solids is cocoa powder), cocoa extract or fraction thereof, or may be added independently of cocoa components.
• the cocoa component may be prepared such that the content of cocoa polyphenols (CP) is preserved for example by altering traditional processing steps, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,194,020 and 6,599,553.
• the present compounds may be administered in combination with other cognition-enhancing agents and/or to enhance responsiveness to other cognition-enhancing agents.
• cognition-enhancing agents include: metabolic substrates (e.g., glucose, ketones, supplemental oxygen), alkaloids (e.g., theobromine, caffeine) vitamins, amino acids, minerals, micronutrients, botanical extracts or their derivatives, herbs or herbal supplements (e.g., ginkgo, ginseng).
• metabolic substrates e.g., glucose, ketones, supplemental oxygen
• alkaloids e.g., theobromine, caffeine
• vitamins amino acids, minerals, micronutrients, botanical extracts or their derivatives
• herbs or herbal supplements e.g., ginkgo, ginseng
• a flavanol or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives, and glucuronidated derivatives) as defined above, in the manufacture of a medicament, food, nutraceutical or dietary supplement for enhancing an executive cognitive function and/or for increasing blood flow in brain vasculature.
• a compound of formula A n or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or derivative thereof (including oxidation products, methylated derivatives and glucuronidated derivatives), as defined herein, in the manufacture of a medicament, food, nutraceutical or dietary supplement for use in enhancing an executive cognitive function and/or for increasing blood flow in brain vasculature.
• the effective amount may be determined by a person of skill in the art using the guidance provided herein and general knowledge in the art.
• the effective amount may be such as to achieve a physiologically relevant concentration in the body of a mammal.
• a physiologically relevant concentration may be at least 20 nanomolar (nM), preferably at least about 100 nM, and more preferably at least about 500 nM.
• at least about one micromole in the blood of the mammal, such as a human is achieved.
• the compounds defined herein may be administered at from about 35 mg/day, 40 mg/day or 50 mg/day (e.g. to about 1000 mg/day), or from about 75 mg/day (e.g.
• amounts higher than exemplified above may be used since the upper end of the amount range is not a limiting factor. The amounts may be measured as described in Adamson, G.E. et al., J. Ag. Food Chem.; 1999; 47 (10) 4184-4188.
• the administration may be continued as a regimen, i.e., for an effective period of time, e.g., daily, monthly, bimonthly, biannually, annually, or in some other regimen, as determined by the skilled medical practitioner for such time as is necessary.
• the administration may be continued for at least a period of time required for enhancement of executive cognitive function(s) and/or for increasing blood flow in brain vasculature.
• the composition may be administered daily, preferably two or three times a day, for example, morning and evening to maintain the levels of the effective compounds in the body of the mammal.
• compositions may be administered for at least 7 days, or at least 14 days, or at least 30 days, or at least 45 days, or at least 60 days, or at least 90 days. These regimens may be repeated periodically as needed.
• the compounds of the invention may be administered as a food (including pet food), a food additive, or a dietary supplement, or a pharmaceutical.
• food is a material containing protein, carbohydrate and/or fat, which is used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair and vital processes and to furnish energy. Foods may also contain supplementary substances, for example,
• a "food additive” is as defined by the FDA in 21 C.F.R. 170.3(e)(l) and includes direct and indirect additives.
• a "dietary supplement” is a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients: a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for use by man to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract or combination of these ingredients.
• a "pharmaceutical” is a medicinal drug. See Merriam- Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition, 1993. A pharmaceutical, may also be referred to as a medicament.
• the above compositions may be prepared as is known in the art.
• compositions may contain a carrier, a diluent, or an excipient.
• the carrier, diluent, or excipient may be chosen to be suitable for human or veterinary use, food, additive, dietary supplement or pharmaceutical use.
• the composition may optionally contain an additional cognition-enhancing/improving agent.
• a person of skill in the art may select the degree of purity of the compound of the invention. For example, when used to prepare pharmaceutical dosage forms, the compound should be as pure as commercially possible, while when preparing food, additive, or supplement, less pure or mixtures of compounds (e.g. plant extracts) may be used.
• the compound of the invention may be "isolated and purified,” i.e., it may be separated from compounds with which it naturally occurs (e.g. when the compound is of natural origin), or it may be synthetically prepared, in either case such that the level of contaminating compounds and/or impurities does not significantly contribute to, or detract from, the effectiveness of the compound.
• an "isolated and purified B2 dimer” is separated from B5 dimer, with which it may occur in nature (e.g. in cocoa bean), to the extent achievable by the available commercially viable purification and separation techniques.
• Such compounds are particularly suitable for pharmaceutical applications.
• the compound may also be less pure, i.e., "substantially pure,” i.e., it may possess the highest degree of homogeneity achievable by available purification, separation and/or synthesis technology but need not be separated from the like compounds.
• the like compounds are the compounds having the same degree of polymerization.
• a “substantially pure dimer” refers to a mixture of dimers (e.g. B2 and B5, as it would occur in a cocoa extract fraction). While less suitable for pharmaceutical applications, such "substantially pure" compounds may be utilized for food, food additive and dietary supplement applications.
• the compound of the invention is at least 80% pure, at least 85% pure, at least 90% pure, at least 95% pure, at least 98% pure, or at least 99% pure. Such compounds are particularly suitable for pharmaceutical applications.
• oral administration includes administration by the mouth and includes sublingual and buccal administrations.
• a person of skill in the art will be able to determine a suitable mode of administration to maximize the delivery of the compounds of the invention.
• dosage forms adapted for each type of administration by mouth are within the scope of the invention and include solid, liquid and semi-solid dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, gelatin capsules (gelcaps), bulk or unit dose powders or granules, emulsions, suspensions, pastes, or jellies. Sustained-release dosage forms are also within the scope of the invention.
• Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, diluents, or excipients are generally known in the art and can be determined readily by a person skilled in the art.
• the tablet may comprise an effective amount of the compound of the invention and optionally a carrier, such as sorbitol, lactose, cellulose, or dicalcium phosphate.
• the foods comprising the compounds described herein and optionally another cognition-enhancing/improving agent may be adapted for human or veterinary use, and include pet foods.
• the food may be other than a confectionery, for example, a beverage (e.g. cocoa flavored beverage).
• a confectionery such as a standard of identity (SOI) and non-SOI chocolate, such as milk, sweet and semi-sweet chocolate including dark chocolate, low fat chocolate and a candy which may be a chocolate covered candy are also within the scope of the invention.
• Other examples include a baked product (e.g.
• the foods may be chocolate or cocoa flavored.
• Food products may be chocolates and candy bars, such as granola bars, containing nuts, for example, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. The food is designed to deliver an effective amount of the compounds described herein.
• the compounds for use in the present invention may be of natural origin, for example, derived from a cocoa bean or another natural source known to a person of skill in the art, or prepared synthetically.
• a person of skill in the art may select natural or synthetic polyphenols based on the use and/or availability or cost.
• the compounds may be included in the composition in the form of a cocoa component.
• the compound(s) may be included in the composition in the form of a cocoa ingredient, for example, chocolate liquor included in chocolate, or may be added independently of cocoa ingredients, for example, as an extract, extract fraction, isolated and purified individual compound, pooled extract fractions or a synthetically prepared compound.
• the extraction and purification may be conducted as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,554,645 and 6,670,390 to Romanczyk et al, and U. S. Pat. No. 6,627,232 to Hammerstone et al., each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
• Cocoa flavanols and/or procyanidins may be provided in the composition of the invention by cocoa ingredients containing these compounds or by including chocolate, which may be milk, sweet and semi-sweet, and is preferably dark chocolate, and low fat chocolate.
• the cocoa ingredients may be prepared using traditional cocoa processing procedures but is preferably prepared using the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,913 to Kealey et al.
• chocolate liquor and cocoa solids prepared from cocoa beans having a fermentation factor of 275 or less may be used. These ingredients have cocoa polyphenol content that is higher than can be obtained using traditional cocoa processing methods (e.g. with roasting and fully fermented beans).
• the chocolate may be prepared using conventional techniques from the ingredients described above or using an improved process for preserving cocoa polyphenols during chocolate manufacturing as described in the International Appl. No. PCT/US99/05414 published as WO99/45788 and in its U. S. counterpart, U. S. Pat. No. 6,194,020, the relevant portions of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
• a chocolate prepared by at least one of the following non-traditional processes is referred to herein as a "chocolate having a conserved amount of cocoa polyphenols": (i) preparing cocoa ingredients from underfermented or unfermented cocoa beans; (ii) preserving cocoa polyphenol during cocoa ingredient manufacturing process; and (iii) preserving cocoa polyphenol during chocolate manufacturing process.
• Such non-traditional processes may be used to prepare other cocoa component-containing products (foods e.g. beverages, dietary supplements) designed to contain enhanced levels of flavanols and/or procyanidins.
• Synthetic procyanidins may also be used and are prepared by methods known in the art and as described, for example, as in U. S. Pat. Nos. 6,420,572; 6,156,912; and 6,864,377, the relevant portions of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
• a daily effective amount of the compound of the invention may be provided in a single serving in case of a food or a single dosage in case of a pharmaceutical or a dietary supplement.
• a confectionery e.g. chocolate
• the dietary supplement containing the compounds of the invention, and optionally another cognition-enhancing/improving agent may be prepared using methods known in the art and may comprise, for example, nutrient such as dicalcium phosphate, magnesium stearate, calcium nitrate, vitamins, and minerals.
• an article of manufacture such as a packaged product comprising the composition of the invention (e.g. a food, a dietary supplement, a pharmaceutical) and a label indicating the presence of, or an enhanced content of the inventive compounds, or directing use of the composition to enhance executive cognitive function(s) and/or to increase blood flow in brain vasculature.
• the packaged product may contain the composition and the instructions for use to enhance executive cognitive functions and/or to increase blood flow in brain vasculature.
• the label and/or instructions for use may refer to any of the methods of use described in this application.
• the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing an article of manufacture comprising any of the compositions described herein, packaging the composition to obtain an article of manufacture and instructing, directing or promoting the use of the composition/article of manufacture for any of the uses described herein.
• Such instructing, directing or promoting includes advertising.
• Example 1 Effect of cocoa flavanols on the fMRI response to a cognitive task in healthy young people
• Each subject underwent two fMRI sessions that were repeated at least 14 days apart. Subjects were randomized to receive a high flavanol cocoa drink (150mg flavanol/procyanidins per drink for 5 days prior to one fMRI session and a low flavanol cocoa drink (13 mg flavanol/procyanidin per drink) for 5 days prior to the other session in a double blind counterbalanced manner. These will be referred to hereafter as 'high flavanol' and 'low flavanol'. Subjects consumed one drink per day at a set time for the 5 days prior to each scan session, with the final drink being consumed approximately 1.5 hours before the fMRI scan.
• Subjects were pre-trained to perform two tasks, a number task of odd-even judgment and a letter task requiring consonant- vowel judgment.
• subjects learnt to respond to single letter stimuli depending on whether the letter displayed was a consonant (G, K, M, R) or a vowel (A, E, O, U).
• Subjects were trained to press a left button in response to a vowel and right button for a consonant.
• subjects were trained to respond to digits that were either odd (3, 5, 7, 9) or even (2, 4, 6, 8), using left and right button responses respectively.
• the letter-digit pairs task consisted of a letter and a digit displayed simultaneously on a computer screen (for the fMRI scanning a projector and screen were used).
• the letter-digit pairs were either red or blue.
• subjects were instructed to attend to the letter and respond by pressing the appropriate button as trained • (i.e., applying the rule for categorizing as vowel or consonant). If the letter-digit pair was blue they responded to the digit (odd-even judgment) in a similar manner.
• the definition of the 'switch' task is the changing between the two sets of rules, one for the letters (consonant- vowel judgment) and one for digits (odd-even judgment).
• the letter-digit pairs were grouped into blocks.
• a block of five letter-digit pairs, all of the same color is a 'non-switch' block.
• a block of five letter-digit pairs alternating between red and blue stimuli (and so reconfiguring task judgment) is a 'switch' block.
• the gap between each letter-digit pair within the block was 3 seconds, giving a total block length of 15 seconds; this was then followed by a 12 second fixation cross (baseline condition).
• the blocks were presented alternately (i.e., 'switch' block, 'non-switch' block, 'switch' block, 'non-switch' block etc.).
• the presentation of letter-digit pairs within a block helps to increase the switch cost and so also increase the magnitude of the fMRI BOLD response, whilst the 12 second interval between the blocks allows the BOLD response to return to baseline.
• fl ⁇ Rl Data Processing (0069) The fMRI data was processed using SPM99 (Friston KJ et al., Neuroimage 1995; 2:166-172) (Statistical Parametric Mapping, Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, UK). The raw data from the scanner was motion corrected to realign all functional slices to the first volume of the data set, spatially normalized to the standard EPI template. Eight millimeter FWHM (full width half maximum) spatial smoothing and 128 s high pass filter cut-off were applied.
• EPISTAR Echo-Planar MR Imaging and Signal Targeting with Alternating Radiofrequency
• ASL arterial spin labelling sequence
• the EPISTAR sequence was implemented with repetition time (TR) of 3 seconds between tag and control images, and a total of 60 tag and control pairs were acquired.
• TR repetition time
• Each subject underwent CBF imaging prior to and at 2, 4, and 6 hours after ingestion of a high flavanol cocoa drink (450 mg flavanol) or a low flavanol cocoa drink, on two separate occasions.
• a single dose of the drinks was consumed on only one occasion.
• Each CBF measurement was followed by the acquisition of a Ti map for segmentation of brain tissue types and grey matter territories. (CBV is commonly used to refer to blood volume).
• Table 1 The mean heart rate ( ⁇ SEM) (beats per minute) in response to 'switch' and 'non-switch' conditions for low and high flavanol drinks. fl ⁇ Rl Results for Task Switching Paradigm
• Figure 2a shows the group statistical parametric map for the switch task vs baseline condition at a corrected probability of P ⁇ 0.05.
• the 'switch' and 'non-switch' versus baseline conditions revealed activation in the medial and lateral prefrontal cortex (including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)), parietal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and cerebellum.
• DLPFC dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
• ACC anterior cingulate cortex
• cerebellum cerebellum.
• 'Non-switch' is not represented in Figure 2a, however, 'non- switch' vs baseline condition shows similar areas to the 'switch' vs baseline condition.
• Figure 2b shows the group statistical map of areas of activation which show significantly increased BOLD response during the 'switch' task relative to the 'non-switch' task. From this comparison, it can be seen that those brain areas activated preferentially to the 'switch' condition are largely localized in the right hemisphere, in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, as well as the anterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum.
• Figure 2a shows areas for the 'switch' condition relative to a resting baseline. These are all those parts of the brain which are associated with performing the switch task, so are not exclusive to task switching since they can include areas associated with different aspects of the task such as the motor response to the button press.
• Figure 2b shows areas which are greater for the 'switch' condition than the 'non-switch' condition. Therefore, this can be thought of as ('switch' condition relative to a resting baseline) - ('non-switch' condition relative to a resting baseline).
• This is the important condition as the aspects of the task which are unimportant, such as the motor response to the button press, are in both the 'switch' and 'non-switch' conditions and so by subtracting 'non-switch' from 'switch' those brain areas associated with the motor button press response are removed.
• the 'switch' minus 'non- switch' condition only those areas which are purely involved in task switching are seen.
• the right posterior parietal cortex has widely been shown to be responsible for spatial or visual attention (Rushworth MFS et al., J Neurosci 2001 ; 21 : 5262-5271), whilst the cerebellum is thought to be primarily activated with timing irregularity in the switch task, consistent with its role as an internal timing system (Ivry RB, Curr Opin Neurobiol 1996;6:851-7).
• Table 2 The average percentage signal change ( ⁇ SEM) of the BOLD response relative to baseline for the 'switch' condition following ingestion of a repeated dose of low and high flavanol drinks.
• the high flavanol drink revealed a marked increase in the BOLD response.
• Figure 3 shows the time course of the mean cerebral blood flow response across grey matter following ingestion of the low and high flavanol drinks. It can be seen that there was an increase in cerebral blood flow in response to the high flavanol drink, with a peak in the cerebral blood flow response occurring at approximately two hours post ingestion, and CBF returning to baseline after approximately six hours. It should be noted that in this study an acute dose of flavanols was given, in contrast to the repeated dose given in the fMRI study.
• Participants abstained from caffeine and alcohol for a minimum of 12 hours prior to the first testing session and throughout the morning until the final testing session was completed.
• a diary was provided to allow participants to record all food and drink consumption for 24 hours prior to the first test session of each study day. It was recommended to participants that they avoid food and beverages which are high in flavonoid content for 24 hours preceding each study day.
• composition of each treatment or control sachet was as follows:
• This task has been widely used to study the cognitive effects of psychotropic interventions.
• the participants monitored a continuous series of digits for targets of three consecutive odd or three consecutive even digits.
• the digits were presented at the rate of 100 per minute and the participant responded to the detection of a target string by pressing a response key as quickly as possible.
• the task was continuous and lasted for 5 minutes, with 8 correct target strings being presented in each minute.
• the task was scored for percentage of target strings correctly detected, average reaction time for correct detections, and number of false alarms.
• Saliva samples were obtained using salivettes. Samples were taken immediately following baseline assessment in order to confirm compliance to overnight abstinence and immediately following each post-treatment assessment session to confirm uniform caffeine absorption across conditions. The saliva samples were immediately frozen at -20 0 C until thawing for in-house batch analysis using the Emit system (Syva, Palo Alto, USA). This is an enzyme immunoassay intended to measure caffeine as a metabolite and is based on competition for antibody binding sites between caffeine and an enzyme labelled drug.
• the CDR system has been used in well over 500 European and North American drug trials, and has been shown to be sensitive to cognitive improvements as well as impairments with a wide variety of substances.
• Word Presentation Fifteen words, matched for frequency and concreteness, were presented in sequence on the monitor for the participant to remember. Stimulus duration was 1 second, as was the inter-stimulus interval.
• Digit Vigilance Task A target digit was randomly selected and constantly displayed to the right of the monitor screen. A series of digits was presented in the center of the screen at the rate of 80 per minute and the participant was required to press the 'YES' button as quickly as possible every time the digit in the series matches the target digit. The task lastsed three minutes and there was 45 stimulus-target matches. Task measures were accuracy (%), reaction time (msec) and number of false alarms.
• Choice Reaction Time Either the word 'NO' or the word 'YES' was presented on the monitor and the participant was required to press the corresponding button as quickly as possible. There were 50 trials, of which the stimulus word was chosen randomly with equal probability, with a randomly varying inter-stimulus interval of between 1 and 3.5 seconds. Reaction times (msec) and accuracy (%) were recorded.
• Table 6 Level I: Attention The ability to select, evaluate and respond to appropriate environmental information
• Table 7 Level II: Short Term or Working Memory The ability to temporarily store the information relevant to ongoing tasks
• Table 8 Level III: Long Term or Episodic Secondary Memory The ability to register, store and retrieve information over any period required
• control (control), 2) 469.3 mg cocoa polyphenols (medium CP), 3) 902.2mg polyphenols (high CP) on separate occasions.
• the treatment was made up of two sachets of powder mixed with 200 ml hot water.
• the control treatment consisted of 2 sachets of control CP, the 469.3 mg dose consisted of one control sachet plus one high CP sachet, and the 902.2 mg dose consisted of 2 high CP sachets.
• Nutritional information for the 2 sachets can be found in Tables 3-5 of Example 2. Five minutes was allowed for drink consumption.
• Each of the three active study days comprised four identical testing sessions. The first was a pre-dose testing session, which established baseline performance for that day. This was followed immediately by ingestion of that day's treatment. Further testing sessions began at 90 minutes, 3 hours and 6 hours following consumption of the day's treatment. Each testing session lasted approximately 30 minutes and comprised completion of the CDR test battery, Bond-Lader visual analogue mood scales, 10-minute PVT and production of a saliva sample with the use of a salivette.
• the pre-dose session and the 90 minute post-dose session also involved the taking of a 2 ml venous plasma sample prior to completion of the CDR battery.
• Salivary caffeine levels were analysed to assess compliance to caffeine abstinence.
• (00138) Prior to the primary statistical analysis separate, one way, repeated measures ANOVAS of pre-dose baseline data were conducted to ascertain any chance baseline differences in performance prior to the treatments.
• Salivary analysis confirmed adherence to caffeine abstinence instructions with mean baseline caffeine values of 0.79 ⁇ g/ml (levels just below 1 ⁇ g/ml have been reported for overnight caffeine abstinence — Evans and Griffith, 1999, Caffeine withdrawal: a parametric analysis of caffeine dosing conditions. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 289:285-294). Analysis of post-treatment salivary caffeine levels revealed no significant differences between treatment conditions.

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