Administration with Quinoa Protein Reduces the Blood Pressure in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats and Modifies the Fecal Microbiota

Abstract

Despite the well-established role of quinoa protein as the source of antihypertensive peptides through in vitro enzymolysis, there is little evidence supporting the in vivo antihypertensive effect of intact quinoa protein. In this study, in vivo study on spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) was conducted by administering quinoa protein for five weeks. Gastrointestinal content identification indicated that many promising precursors of bioactive peptides were released from quinoa protein under gastrointestinal processing. Quinoa protein administration on SHRs resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure, a significant increase in alpha diversity, and microbial structure alternation towards that in non-hypertension rats. Furthermore, blood pressure was highly negatively correlated with the elevated abundance of genera in quinoa protein-treated SHRs, such as Turicibacter and Allobaculum. Interestingly, the fecal microbiota in quinoa protein-treated SHRs shared more features in the composition of genera with non-hypertension rats than that of the captopril-treated group. These results indicate that quinoa protein may serve as a potential candidate to lower blood pressure and ameliorate hypertension-related gut dysbiosis.

Food Peptides, Gut Microbiota Modulation, and Antihypertensive Effects

“…Fermented soy proteins (200 mg/kg body weight) reduced systolic blood pressure (−19 mmHg) in spontaneously hypertensive rats during six-week feedings [145]. In a related work, 100 mg/kg bodyweight of the fermented soy proteins reduced both blood pressure (systolic (−27.1 mmHg), diastolic (−38.6 mmHg)), inhibited by 40% serum ACE activity, and increased the microbial richness and evenness relation to control SHRs [120]. At the phylum level, for example, Firmicutes represented 82% of all identified species in the fecal samples of control SHRs compared to 8% of Bacteroidetes.…”

Regulatory effect of gut microbes on blood pressure

“…Curcumin also restored BP by altering the composition of gut microbial community and improving gut pathology and integrity in SHRs 177 . Quinoa protein intervention decreased BP significantly and changed the microbial community structure in SHRs compared with nonhypertension rats 178 . A growing body of evidence has indicated that berberine and its derivatives could reduce BP in patients with hypertension, and its mechanism may be attributed to inhibition of renin‐angiotensin system activity, 179 decreased levels of aldosterone, 179,180 reduced arterial stiffness, 181 and improved endothelial function 180 in rats.…”

“…177 Quinoa protein intervention decreased BP significantly and changed the microbial community structure in SHRs compared with nonhypertension rats. 178 A growing body of evidence has indicated that berberine and its derivatives could reduce BP in patients with hypertension, and its mechanism may be attributed to inhibition of renin-angiotensin system activity, 179 decreased levels of aldosterone, 179,180 reduced arterial stiffness, 181 and improved endothelial function 180 Previous studies have provided enough evidence that gut microbes can regulate BP. However, there is still a long way to go before gut microbes can be applied to improve hypertension.…”

The Beneficial Effect of Coarse Cereals on Chronic Diseases through Regulating Gut Microbiota

“…During the five weeks of intake of quinoa protein, the blood pressure (BP) was significantly decreased, while the alpha diversity was increased, and the microbial structure was changed. Subsequent analysis revealed that the abundances of Turicibacter and Allobaculum genera were negatively correlated with BP [67].…”