Milk containing peptides has a beneficial effect on blood pressure and reduces arterial stiffness
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28th September 2008
Elevated blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease and stroke. Although the blood pressure level of Finns has on average fallen during the last decade, elevated blood pressure is still a major public health concern. At year-end 2006, some 500,000 Finnish people were receiving blood pressure lowering medication reimbursed by the national Social Insurance Institution. Lifestyle factors, such as better nutrition, more physical activity, and not smoking, play a major role in the treatment and prevention of hypertension.
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In her doctoral thesis, Tiina Jauhiainen, MSc, examined whether a dairy product containing bioactive peptides - isoleucine-proline-proline (Ile-Pro-Pro) and valine-proline-proline (Val-Pro-Pro) - formed during milk fermentation can lower blood pressure and reduce arterial stiffness in long-term use in persons with mildly elevated blood pressure. The effective mechanisms and kinetics of these peptides in the body were examined by experimental models.
The thesis concludes that fermented dairy products containing peptides seem to lower blood pressure in people with mildly elevated blood pressure. The clearest result regarding the effect on blood pressure was achieved in 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement; the difference between the group that received peptides and the placebo group in lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure was statistically significant. The 24-hour ambulatory measurement method is considered the most reliable. Two of the studies conducted for the thesis also showed that a dairy product containing peptides seems to reduce arterial stiffness. No similar studies have been conducted on the effects of dairy peptides.
The thesis further demonstrated in experimental models that the Ile-Pro-Pro tripeptide is absorbed partly intact and distributed in the body e.g. to those tissues that are related to blood pressure regulatory systems. Moreover, tripeptide is not bound to plasma proteins. This doctoral dissertation was unable to prove the blood pressure lowering effect of tripeptides.
The thesis suggests in conclusion that fermented dairy products containing peptides lower blood pressure and reduce arterial stiffness, and thus effectively support the dietary treatment of hypertension.
Tiina Jauhiainen. Blood pressure lowering effects of Lactobacillus helveticus fermented milk containing bioactive peptides Ile-Pro-Pro and Val-Pro-Pro; mechanistic, kinetic and clinical studies. University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine, Pharmacology.
Further information: Tiina Jauhiainen, Concept Manager, PhD,
Valio Ltd, Innovative Concepts and Technologies
Tel. +358 10 381 3052, E-mail: tiina.jauhiainen@valio.fi
The thesis can be read at http://ethesis.helsinki.fi
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Tiina Jauhiainen
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