All those who have hypertension should know.
High blood pressure affects nearly 17 million adults in France. The most worrying is that more than a third of them ignore it. Often silent, this lasting increase in pressure in the arteries can have heavy consequences: infarction, stroke, heart or kidney failure. A Chinese study explored an original nutritional axis: the effects of the egg on the regulation of blood pressure, but only part of the food would be interesting.
The researchers wanted to know if certain egg proteins could lower blood pressure. More specifically, if it was enough to cut them into small pieces – peptides – so that they become active against hypertension. They first isolated the part of the egg they wanted to test. Then they removed a well -known protein, ovotransferrine. The mixture obtained was OD-EWH. The goal: to check if his absence changed something. Then they fragmented the rest, thanks to a process called hydrolysis. This mixture was given for nine days to hypertensive rats. In parallel, another group received the same food, but without modification. Animal tension has been measured every day. The researchers also looked at what was going on in the vessels. They analyzed the activity of certain enzymes linked to the regulation of tension, signs of inflammation and oxidative stress, that is to say the wear of cells in the face of aggressions.
The results published in “Food Materials Research” show that egg white has “significantly reduced blood pressure”, By acting on several protective levers of the vascular system. By observing what was happening inside the body of rats, the researchers also found that the egg white strengthened an enzyme which normally increases the tension, improved the functioning of the vessels and reduced oxidative stress, often present in the event of hypertension. On the other hand, it had no effect on the inflammation of the vessels.
“These results demonstrate the potential of the OD-EWH (the modified egg editor’s note) as a functional food ingredient against hypertension”, conclude the authors. Inexpensive and easy to integrate into daily diet, egg white could one day be used in the diet to help fight hypertension. Human tests are now expected to confirm these first observations made in rats.
