Chocolate as a functional delivery platform for sexual-wellnessnutraceuticals A critical review of current evidence

Sexual dysfunction, including reduced desire, impaired arousal, erectile difficulties, orgasmic problems, and sexual dissatisfaction, is a multifactorial health concern influenced by vascular, endocrine, neurological, psychological, metabolic, and relational factors. Although pharmacological treatments are effective for many individuals, interest in nutraceutical approaches has increased because of their potential to support multiple biological pathways and provide alternative delivery formats. This critical narrative review, supported by a structured literature search, evaluates chocolate as a potential functional delivery matrix for sexual-wellness nutraceuticals and examines the ingredient-level evidence relating to cocoa flavanols, maca, epimedium-derived compounds, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Current evidence suggests that chocolate possesses physicochemical and sensory characteristics that may support the incorporation of selected bioactives, including lipid compatibility, palatability, Phytochemical protection and intrinsic cocoa-derived vascular effects. Ingredient-level studies indicate possible relevance to endothelial function, Nitric OxideO (NO) signalling, sexual desire, neuroendocrine regulation, stress adaptation, and hormonal pathways. However, the strength and consistency of evidence vary considerably across ingredients, populations, doses, study designs, and outcomes. Evidence supporting controlled release, superior bioavailability, improved long-term adherence, or potentially complementary effects within a complete chocolate-based combination remains limited. The inclusion of DHEA also introduces important safety, regulatory, and population-specific concerns. Overall, chocolate-based sexual-wellness formulations should be regarded as biologically plausible and hypothesis-driven rather than clinically validated. Direct pharmacokinetic, stability, safety, interaction, adherence, and randomized clinical studies are required before efficacy, superiority, or formulation-level synergy can be established.