Highlighting the health benefits of dark chocolate, a new study by US researchers has found that dark chocolate is apparently abound in an ingredient which boosts muscles in a way which is similar to using a running machine in the gym!

The findings - which came to the fore while the researchers were observing the effects of a cocoa ingredient called `epicatechin' on mice - chiefly underscore that eating dark chocolate 'boosts fitness in the same way as jogging.'

According to the researchers, dark chocolate can improve athletic performance almost as much as exercise because of the presence of the `epicatechin' plant compound which apparently stimulates muscle growth in the same way as a vigorous activity does.

It was on the basis of their study of middle-aged mice - which were divided into three groups: one got epicatechin from cocoa twice a day for 15 days; another had epicatechin and 30 minutes daily on the treadmill; and one did the exercise but without taking the extract - that the researchers concluded that when small doses of epicatechin were eaten in combination with regular exercise, there was a 50 percent boost in performance.

Noting that the `epicatechin-only' mice had a notably better muscle performance and did not tire as easily as their `exercise-only' counterparts, lead researcher Dr Moh Malek - from Wayne State University, Detroit - said that the `epicatechin plus exercise' group showed even greater improvement; thereby implying that "epicatechin combined with exercise may be a viable means to offset muscle ageing!"