Bioactive Natural Constituents from Food Sources—Potential Use in Hypertension Prevention and Treatment

Abstract

Prevention and management of hypertension are the major public health challenges worldwide. Uncontrolled high blood pressure may lead to a shortened life expectancy and a higher morbidity due to a high risk of cardiovascular complications such as coronary heart disease (which leads to heart attack) and stroke, congestive heart failure, heart rhythm irregularities, and kidney failure etc. In recent years, it has been recognized that many dietary constituents may contribute to human cardiovascular health. There has been an increased focus on identifying these natural components of foods, describing their physiological activities and mechanisms of actions. Grain, vegetables, fruits, milk, cheese, meat, chicken, egg, fish, soybean, tea, wine, mushrooms, and lactic acid bacteria are various food sources with potential antihypertensive effects. Their main bioactive constituents include angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides, vitamins C and E, flavonoids, flavanols, cathecins, anthocyanins, phenolic acids, polyphenols, tannins, resveratrol, polysaccharides, fiber, saponin, sterols, as well as K, Ca, and P. They may reduce blood pressure by different mechanisms, such as ACE inhibition effect, antioxidant, vasodilatory, opiate-like, Ca(2+) channel blocking, and chymase inhibitory activities. These functional foods may provide new therapeutic applications for hypertension prevention and treatment, and contribute to a healthy cardiovascular population. The present review summarizes the antihypertensive food sources and their bioactive constituents, as well as physiological mechanisms of dietary products, especially focusing on ACE inhibitory activity.

Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of two bean cultivars (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) submitted to cooking

“…Despite their effect on the nutritional value of food products, tannins are phenolic compounds that are also engaged in antioxidant activity and can contribute to human health, including the maintenance of the intestinal microbiota (CARDONA et al, 2013) and the prevention of degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (including hypertension), cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and age-related functional decline (ZARGHAM; ZARGHAM, 2008;HUANG et al, 2013).…”

“…reduction in lipid oxidation, prevention of atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension and cancer), it is important to evaluate their stability after processing, because factors such as temperature and time can affect their concentration (ZARGHAM; ZARGHAM, 2008;HUANG et al, 2013;MILEO;MICCADEI, 2016). In relation to the effect of processing on the phenolic profile of beans, Telles et al (2017) affirmed that raw beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) can present significant values of chlorogenic, gallic and protocatechuic acid.…”

ACE and α-glucosidase Inhibitory Activity of the Glucosinolates in Dolsan Leaf Mustard Pickle during Storage

“…In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the potential for using natural food components as functional foods to treat hypertension, especially for people with borderline to mild hypertension that does not warrant the prescription of anti-hypertensive drugs (8). In this study, Dolsan leaf mustard pickle (DLMP) extracts were for α-glucosidase and ACE inhibitory activities.…”

The powerful colour of the maqui (Aristotelia chilensis [Mol.] Stuntz) fruit

“…Anthocyanins are also beneficial against many chronic diseases [49,50]. Accordingly, several studies have investigated the health effects of maqui anthocyanins over the last 6 years.…”