Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Extraction and Purification of Polyphenols from Freeze-dried Berry Powder for the Treatment of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells In Vitro
Published on: July 5, 2017
Feeding blueberry diets inhibits angiotensin II-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in spontaneously hypertensive
Waylon Wiseman1, Jennifer M Egan, Jennifer E Slemmer
1Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
Abstract:
Feeding flavonoid-rich blueberries to spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRSP) lowers blood pressure. To determine whether this is due to inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, as seen with other flavanoid-rich foods, we fed blueberries to SHRSP and normotensive rats and analyzed ACE activity in blood and tissues. After 2 weeks on a control diet, the hypertensive rats showed 56% higher levels of ACE activity in blood as compared with the normotensive rats (p < 0.05). Feeding a 3% blueberry diet for 2 weeks lowered ACE activity in the SHRSP (p < 0.05) but not the normotensive rats. ACE activity in plasma of SHRSP was no longer elevated at weeks 4 and 6, but blueberry feeding inhibited ACE in SHRSP after 6 weeks. Blueberry diets had no effect on ACE activity in lung, testis, kidney, or aorta. Our results suggest that dietary blueberries may be effective in managing early stages of hypertension, partially due to an inhibition of soluble ACE activity.
Related Concept Videos
Antihypertensive Drugs: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
Antihypertensive Drugs: Direct Renin Inhibitors
Heart Failure Drugs: Inhibitors of Renin-Angiotensin System
Antihypertensive Drugs: Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers
Antihypertensive Drugs: Action of β1 Blockers
Atherosclerosis III: Management
