Arterial hypertension affects 33% of adults in Spain, according to data from the Spanish Society of Hypertension-Spanish League for the Fight against Arterial Hypertension (SEH-LELHA). Although there have been important advances in drug treatment to lower blood pressure levels, patients are still at high risk of dying from conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.
One of the pillars to control blood pressure is in diet, for example following the DASH diet, and in the establishment of a healthy lifestyle for hypertensives. Now, researchers at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine have discovered that a Japanese plum (Prunus mume) juice concentrate may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in these patients. Their findings have been published in Hypertension Research.
This fruit, known as ‘ume’, is widely consumed in Asian countries and Japan, where it is considered a healthy food. Ume contains toxins, so it is often processed into juices or wine that are safe for human consumption. The infused juice concentrate is called bainiku-ekisu and has been consumed as a supplement with health benefits in Japan since at least the 18th century. Bainiku-ekisu is credited with health properties, including the ability to prevent heart disease.
Mice given bainiku-ekisu did not develop hypertension, and the concentrated juice protected blood vessels from the effects of angiotensin II
“It is recognized that drugs alone are not sufficient to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with hypertension,” said Dr. Satoru Eguchi, Professor, Center for Cardiovascular Research, Sol Sherry Thrombosis Research Center, and Center for Metabolic Disease Research at Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine and principal investigator and corresponding co-author of the new study. “To help solve this problem, we became interested in a supplement that might lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and began to investigate the effects of bainiku-ekisu, an infused Japanese plum juice concentrate.”
Bainiku-ekisu juice concentrate helps prevent hypertension
To assess the potential antihypertensive effects of bainiku-ekisu, Dr. Eguchi and Dr. Hirotoshi Utsunomiya, a professor in the Department of Rehabilitation at Osaka Kawasaki Rehabilitation University in Japan and a co-author of the new report, used a mouse model in which Angiotensin II infusions were administered to induce hypertension. Next, they gave the animals water containing bainiku-ekisu or tap water (those in the control group).
When analyzing the cardiovascular function and the vascular tissues of both groups of mice, they found significant differences. Specifically, the mice given bainiku-ekisu did not develop hypertension, and analysis of their tissue indicated that the concentrated juice protected blood vessels from the effects of angiotensin II. In particular, the hypertrophy (growth and enlargement) of the aorta was minimal in the mice that received bainiku-ekisu, while those in the control group showed marked aortic hypertrophy. Bainiku-ekisu also reduced the infiltration of immune cells, which trigger inflammatory processes associated with hypertension.
The researchers looked at the possible mechanisms by which bainiku-ekisu had prevented high blood pressure in the mice, and specifically studied the molecular pathways involved in glycolysis, the process by which cells break down glucose, a key feature of high blood pressure-induced hypertrophy. hypertension. “In hypertension, cells switch from aerobic metabolism to glycolysis because there is less oxygen available in the cellular environment,” explained Dr. Eguchi. “This change results in high levels of oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation, more vascular stiffness, and ultimately the development of more severe cardiovascular disease.”
Experiments in cells showed that bainiku-ekisu prevents the switch to glycolysis, suggesting that it protects against angiotensin II-induced hypertension by reducing deleterious metabolic changes associated with hypertrophy and inflammation. The researchers’ goal is to identify specific compounds in bainiku-ekisu with protective effects. “There may be two or three compounds working together, which could explain why infused ume juice concentrate is so popular as a health supplement,” says Dr. Eguchi. “Multiple compounds working together would produce additive or synergistic effects that might be lost in a pharmaceutical preparation,” he concludes.
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