Grape Seed Extract May be Effective in Reducing Blood Pressure

	Tweet

Grape seed extract lowered the blood pressure of patients who participated in a UC Davis study of the benefits of the supplement on people with High Blood Pressure.

Conducted by UC Davis cardiovascular researchers, the study was the first human clinical trial to assess the effect of grape seed extract on people with metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that increase the risk for heart disease, including High Blood Pressure, excess abdominal body weight, High Blood cholesterol fats and high blood sugar. The researchers will present the results at the American Chemical Society Meeting and Exposition on March 26 in Atlanta, and at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s 2006 meeting in San Francisco April 2.

It is estimated that 40 percent of American adults, or 50 million people, have metabolic syndrome.

The one-month study involved 24 male and female patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. The patients were divided into three groups of eight. The first group received a placebo, while the second and third groups received 150 milligrams and 300 milligrams, respectively, of a new grape seed extract. All participants’ blood pressure was automatically measured and recorded for 12 hours after ingestion.

“Participants in the two groups receiving grape seed extract experienced an equal degree of reduced blood pressure. The average drop in systolic pressure was 12 millimeters. The average drop in diastolic pressure was 8 millimeters,” said the study’s lead researcher, C. Tissa Kappagoda, professor of cardiovascular medicine and director of the Preventive Cardiology Program at UC Davis.

Kappagoda adds that the group taking 300 milligrams of grape seed extract also had reduced serum oxidized LDL cholesterol levels.

“Generally, the higher their initial oxidized LDL level was, the greater the drop by the end of the study,” he said. The extract has received the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) certification from the FDA and has no known side effects.

The UC Davis research team recently has recently embarked on a second placebo-controlled human clinical study of grape seed extract, looking at its benefits for pre-hypertension patients with systolic pressure of 120 - 139 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mmHg. Three previous studies in animal models by this team have indicated that grape seed extract may also prevent Atherosclerosis.

Polyphenolics, a division of Constellation Wines U.S., Inc., funded and supplied the grape seed extract for the study.

RELATED STORIES:
Simple procedure lowers blood pressure in kidney disease patients   WHO warns of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity   Causes of hypertension start early, doctor warns   Additional blood pressure screening may reduce incidence of CVD events and death by up to 3 percent   Changes in Gene Expression May Help Explain High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy   Swapping protein for sugar may help blood pressure   Drinking black tea may cut blood pressure   Middle-aged men with upper-normal blood pressure at risk for AF   Pollution tied to disease risk in L.A. black women   Birth Defects May be Linked to High Blood Pressure, Not Use of ACE Inhibitors   Poor sleep quality increases risk of high blood pressure   Pilot study suggests new approach to treat preeclampsia

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]