London, Nov 12 (IANS) A new clinical trial has boosted dark chocolate’s reputation as a stress buster, a study led by an Indian origin scientist reveals.

Eating 40 grams of dark chocolate daily for two weeks reduced levels of stress hormones in people feeling highly stressed.

Sunil Kochhar of the Nestle Research Centre, Switzerland and colleagues said there was growing scientific evidence that antioxidants in dark chocolate may reduce risk factors for heart disease and other conditions.

Everyone’s favourite treat also partially corrected other stress-related bio-chemical imbalances.

Studies also suggest that chocolate may ease emotional stress. Until now, however, there was little evidence from research in humans on exactly how chocolate might have those stress-busting effects.

In the current study, scientists identified reductions in stress hormones and other stress-related biochemical changes in volunteers who rated themselves as highly stressed and ate dark chocolate for two weeks, said a Nestle Research Centre release.

‘The study provides strong evidence that a daily consumption of 40 grams over a period of two weeks is sufficient to modify the metabolism of healthy human volunteers,’ scientists say.

These findings were published online in American Chemical Society’s Journal of Proteome Research.