Efficacy of fermented goat milk on blood pressure in prehypertensive adults

This randomized, double-blind trial was aimed to investigate the hypotensive efficacy of fermented goat milk (FGM) in prehypertensive volunteers. Fifty prehypertensive subjects were chosen and separated into two groups as experimental (consumed six tablets of FGM; 7.5 g) or placebo (every day) for 8-week with 2 weeks of follow-up. Anthropometric parameters, lipid profile, blood pressure (BP), and various hormones were assessed during the initial (before intervention), 8th week (after intervention), and 10th week (follow-up period). Administration with FGM for 8 weeks showed no substantial changes were noted in any of the anthropometric parameters or lipid profile. Whereas, the BP, angiotensin II (AT-II), and aldosterone levels were significantly (p <.05) reduced after supplementation with FGM. However, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensin I (AT-I) levels were not considerably altered. Intake of FGM significantly lowered the BP in prehypertensive adults could be due to the presence of peptides in FGM. Practical applications: Several studies have demonstrated that intake of milk hydrolysates or proteins (peptides) can act as a hypotensive agent by acting as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Moreover, fermented goat milk (FGM) contains bioactive peptides, and hence we hypothesize that it might contribute to hypotensive property by acting as ACE inhibitors. Hence, this clinical trial was conducted to explore the hypotensive activity of FGM by evaluating anthropometric parameters, lipid profile, blood pressure (BP), ACE activity, AT-I, II, and aldosterone. The outcome of this study justified our hypothesis that supplementation of FGM could significantly lower the BP by decreasing angiotensin II (AT-II) and aldosterone levels. Hence, FGM (functional food) can be recommended with standard hypotensive agents to reduce the BP efficiently as well as to abolish the risk of CVD.