Antihypertensive potential of Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG on diastolic, systolic, and mean arterial pressures in NaCl-induced prehypertension rat models

Prehypertension is a warning sign that blood pressure is trending towards unhealthy levels, with a three- to six-fold risk of developing hypertension. It is concerning that most incidents are undiagnosed and rarely the subject of clinical research. Substantial efforts are therefore needed to identify functional foods that effectively control blood pressure from progressing to hypertension. Thus, using prehypertensive rats induced with NaCl, this study explores the possibility of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG) (ATCC 53103) having antihypertensive effects. Eighteen rats were divided equally into three groups and given three different diets: a normal diet (ND), a high-salt diet (HSD) supplemented with 4% NaCl, and a high-salt diet with LGG at a dosage of 1 x 109 CFU daily for eight weeks. The rats were acclimatized to a normal diet for two weeks before being subjected to eight weeks of dietary and probiotic treatments. The three blood pressure metrics, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP), were measured once a week using the tail-cuff method. The levels of DBP (93.4 ± 1.27 mmHg), SBP (134.1 ± 1.97 mmHg), and MAP (104.3 ± 1.03 mmHg) in HSD groups were statistically significantly higher after following the 4% NaCl diet, which successfully mimicked the prehypertension state in humans. No reduction trends were observed on the weekly DBP, SBP, and MAP readings during the eight weeks of LGG treatment. Though still adhering to a high-salt diet, the treated LGG group's average levels of DBP (87.7 ± 0.69 mmHg), SBP (124.5 ± 1.23 mmHg), and MAP (99.3 ± 0.71 mmHg) were significantly lower than those of the HSD group. This suggests that probiotic LGG may have antihypertensive effects. This emphasizes LGG's antihypertensive qualities and suggests that it may be used therapeutically to treat prehypertension and delay the onset of hypertension.