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Daily blueberry consumption reduced BP, arterial stiffness
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Postmenopausal women with prehypertension or mild hypertension who consumed daily blueberry powder experienced significant improvements in systolic and diastolic BP and arterial stiffness at 8 weeks.
These observed improvements may be partially attributed to significant increases in nitric oxide production, researchers wrote.
Researchers conducted a double blind trial of 48 postmenopausal women with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension who were randomly assigned daily consumption of 22 g of free-dried blueberry powder (n=25) or placebo powder (n=23). The women were asked to maintain typical dietary habits and physical activity during the study period. The researchers measured resting brachial systolic and diastolic BP, arterial stiffness, C-reactive protein, nitric oxide and superoxide dismutase at baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks.
Forty women completed the study. At 8 weeks, those who consumed blueberry powder had significantly lower systolic BP (131 ± 17 mm Hg vs. 138 ± 14 mm Hg; P<.05) and diastolic BP (75 ± 9 mm Hg vs. 80 ± 7 mm Hg; P<.01) compared with baseline. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity also was significantly decreased in this group at 8 weeks vs. baseline (1,401 ± 122 cm/second vs. 1,498 ± 179 cm/second; P<.01). The researchers observed significant group-time interactions for changes in BP and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in the group assigned blueberry powder.
Women assigned placebo did not experience changes in BP or brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity.
The researchers also noted that levels of nitric oxide were significantly higher at 8 weeks among women who consumed blueberry powder compared with baseline (15.35 ± 11.16 mcmol/L vs. 9.11 ± 7.95 mcmol/L; P<.01). Again, no change was observed among women assigned placebo.
“This suggests that regular consumption of blueberries over the long term could potentially delay the progression of hypertension and reduce CV risk in postmenopausal women,” the researchers wrote. However, they said further research is needed to determine whether consumption of fresh blueberries and different durations of consumption would yield similar results.
Disclosure: The study was supported by the US Highbush Blueberry Council and the US Department of Agriculture. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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