Can Probiotics Affect Blood Pressure?
PROBIOTICS
SHORT REPORT
Can Probiotics Affect Blood Pressure?
By Donald Brown, ND
Managing Director, Natural Product Research Consultants, Seattle, WA
Dr. Brown reports he is a retained consultant for Nature’s Way and Linnea.
Summary Point
- Consuming probiotics may have a modest effect on blood pressure (BP),
especially in persons with BP > 130/85 mmHG and when taken for ≤ 8 weeks as multistrain product at a potency of ≤ 1011 colony forming units per day.
SOURCE: Khalesi S, et al. Effect of probiotics on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. Hypertension 2014; doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.114.03469.
A meta-analysis of nine clinical trials was completed to determine the effect of probiotics on blood pressure (BP). The total number of participants was 543 and the included studies were all parallel, randomized, controlled trials, with seven studies reporting a double-blind design. Of the nine studies, three included healthy participants, two included patients with hypercholesterolemia, one included patients with hypertension, one included overweight and obese subjects, and one included patients with metabolic syndrome. Four studies used yogurt as the source of probiotic bacteria, two used fermented and sour milk, one study used encapsulated probiotics, one used a probiotic rose-hip drink, and another used probiotic cheese. Four studies used a single strain of the probiotics, while four used two strains and one used a combination of three strains. The daily dose of probiotics ranged from 109 colony forming units (cfu) to 1012 cfu and the duration ranged from 3 weeks to 9 weeks.
Eight of the studies reported a reduction in systolic blood pressure (SBP) with a mean reduction ranging from 1.07 to 14.10 mmHg. Five studies reported a clinically significant reduction in SBP of > 5 mmHg. When all nine studies were considered, there was a significant reduction of SBP by 3.56 mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI], -6.46 to -0.66; P < 0.001) compared with control groups. Eight of the studies reported changes in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) but only two reached a statistically significant level. The meta-analysis found a significant reduction of 2.38 mmHg (95% CI, -3.84 to -0.93; P < 0.01). A greater reduction for both SBP and DBP was found in studies using multiple strains as opposed to only one. Participants with BP > 130/85 were more likely to show significant improvement compared to those with BP < 130/85. Better results were also observed in studies > 8 weeks in duration and also those studies that used probiotic potencies of ≤ 1011 cfu per day.
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