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Effect of probiotic foods and supplements on blood pressure: a systematic review of meta-analyses studies of controlled trials

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Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Recent evidences suggested that hypertension was associated with changes in gut microbiota composition. As intervention with probiotics might be considered as one of the approaches for modulating gut microbiota, the objective of the present study was to systematically review the meta-analyses of controlled trials (CTs) to elucidate the effects of probiotics on blood pressure.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases until November 2019 to explore all the meta-analyses conducted on the CTs assessing the efficacy of probiotics in the management of blood pressure (BP). Meta-analyses performed on in vitro, animal or observational studies were excluded from the study. References of the included studies were also screened to obtain further eligible publications.

Results

From the 111 records which were identified during the literature search, 5 meta-analyses met the selection criteria. Total sample size was 2703 subjects (1009 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)), aged 12–75 years from both sexes. Results of meta-analyses have been shown a moderate effect of probiotics on BP in hypertensive adults with/without T2DM; from 3.10 to 5.04 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and from 0.39 to 3.84 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) after 3–24 weeks consumption. These effects were greater in adults with BP ≥ 130/85, by dairy products, by Asian fermented products with multiple species and higher dose of probiotics (≥ 1011 colony forming units (CFU)).

Conclusion

It seems probiotic foods and supplements which were contained high dose multiple species of probiotic bacteria could be more effective in BP control.

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Availability of data

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Abbreviations

HTN:

Hypertension

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

DALYs:

Disability-adjusted life-years

SCFAs:

Short chain fatty acids

RCTs:

Randomized clinical trials

PRISMA:

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses

CTs:

Controlled trials

AMSTAR:

Multiple Systematic Reviews’

T2DM:

Type 2 diabetes

MetS:

Metabolic syndrome

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

CFU:

Colony forming units

ACE:

Angiotensin-converting enzyme

NO:

Nitric oxide

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Funding

This study was funded by the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

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Contributions

HSE and OTM designed the study and drafted the manuscript. EA helped to write of final draft of the manuscript, revision and re-analysis. ZHT helped in data extraction. SHR, ARS and BL helped in quality assessment and interpretation of data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ozra Tabatabaei-Malazy.

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Ejtahed, HS., Ardeshirlarijani, E., Tabatabaei-Malazy, O. et al. Effect of probiotic foods and supplements on blood pressure: a systematic review of meta-analyses studies of controlled trials. J Diabetes Metab Disord 19, 617–623 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00525-0

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