Tailored fermented milk products may lower blood pressure, reveals Mexican study

22 Mar 2021 --- Fermented dairy foods tailored to modulate the gut could help reduce conditions such as hypertension, according to a new study published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

“New evidence suggests that antihypertensive fermented milks, including probiotics, bioactive peptides and exopolysaccharides obtained from milk fermented with specific lactic acid bacteria, may modulate gut microbiota,” explains investigator Dr. Belinda Vallejo-Córdoba of the Center for Food Research and Development.

“Therefore, there is potential for the development of tailor-made fermented milk with gut microbiota modulation and blood pressure-lowering effects,” adds Vallejo-Córdoba.

Researchers from the Center for Food Research and Development and the National Technological Institute in Mexico report on previous hypertension studies and examine the potential pathways of gut modulation through antihypertensive fermented milk. 

The gut-hypertension link
Several studies have indicated that fermented milk may positively affect gut microbiota or provide antihypertensive effects, explains Vallejo-Córdoba. 

“However, few studies have shown a link between the antihypertensive effect of fermented milk and induced microbial balance (or eubiosis).” 

Vallejo-Córdoba remarks that in the past, the antihypertensive effect has been attributed mainly to angiotensin-I-converting enzyme inhibitory (ACEI) peptides with few studies attributing this effect to gut modulation.

Association between dysbiosis of gut microbiota and hypertension (Source: Journal of Dairy Science).The complexity of hypertension
Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, arises due to a variety of contributing factors such as genetics and the environment. 

However, there is also evidence to support that gut microbiota may also have an effect on the development of hypertension. 

Gut dysbiosis – a marked decrease in richness and diversity of the gut microbiota – has been linked to different metabolic diseases, including hypertension, they write. 

Gut microbiota have been found to influence intestinal development, barrier integrity and function, body metabolism, the immune system and the central nervous system. 

A microbial imbalance affects metabolism, which may lead to metabolic-related diseases, such as hypertension, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

The authors say that future studies are needed to help understand the antihypertensive effects of fermented milk. 

Keeping high blood pressure at bay
Hypertension is a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease and is one of the leading causes of death globally. 

Efforts to reduce health risks due to high blood pressure include the UK’s voluntary national salt reduction program, which experts have recently called upon to strictly enforce.  

Hypertension has also been revealed as a risk factor for COVID-19 patients, with worse outcomes associated with the metabolic condition. 

Edited by Missy Green