ABSTRACT
High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which remains one of the world’s most important public health problems (World Health Organization, International Society of Hypertension Writing Group, 2003; European Society of Hypertension and European Society of Cardiology, 2007). Hypertension affects approximately one billion individuals worldwide. Hypertension develops because of a number of factors, including those related to diet and lifestyle. It is well known that nutritional factors in uence blood pressure; for example, excessive salt and alcohol intake may lead to an increase in blood pressure (Suter et al., 2002). On the other hand, some foods decrease blood pressure and reduce the risk of hypertension. For example, a study of 5000 people found that those with normal blood pressure reported a higher consumption of milk than did hypertensive subjects (Ackley et al., 1983). The authors of that study suggested that some component of milk, probably calcium, exerts a protective effect against hypertension. A large-scale intervention trial on dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) demonstrated that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, ber, and minerals (calcium, potassium, and magnesium) signi cantly lowers blood pressure and is effective as a rst-line therapy (Moore et al., 2001; National High Blood Pressure Education Program Coordinating Committee, 2002; DASH-Sodium Trial Collaborative Research Group, 2003; Appel et al., 1997; Miller et al., 2000). Many studies have addressed the effect of food components on blood pressure, but only a few have assessed the in uence of small quantities of
20.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 349 20.2 GABA and Hypertension ...................................................................................................... 350 20.3 Fermented Milk and Hypertension ....................................................................................... 351 20.4 Production of GABA Using Two Strains of LAB ................................................................ 351 20.5 Antihypertensive Effect of Fermented Milk Containing GABA ......................................... 354 20.6 Mechanism of the Antihypertensive Effect of GABA ......................................................... 356 20.7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 358 References ...................................................................................................................................... 358
an amino acid as a dietary supplement. This chapter focuses on γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), found in a variety of fruit and vegetables.
