Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Chia Flour Supplementation Reduces Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Subjects

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chia supplementation (Salvia hispanica L.) on blood pressure (BP) and its associated cardiometabolic factors in treated and untreated hypertensive individuals. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: the hypertensive-drug treated (CHIA-MD, n = 10), hypertensive untreated (CHIA-NM, n = 9) and placebo (PLA-MD, n = 7) groups. The subjects consumed 35 g/day of either chia flour or a placebo for 12 weeks. The clinical and ambulatory BP, inflammation, oxidative stress and markers for nitric oxide were measured. While the PLA-MD group showed no changes in BP, there was a reduction in the mean clinical blood pressure (MBP) in the CHIA (111.5 ± 1.9 to 102.7 ± 1.5 mmHg, p < 0.001) and CHIA-MD (111.3 ± 2.2 to 100.1 ± 1.8 mmHg, p < 0.001) groups. The CHIA-NM group showed no reduction in the MBP but did show a decreased systolic BP (146.8 ± 3.8 to 137.3 ± 3.1 mmHg, p < 0.05). The clinical BP reduction was demonstrated by a 24 h ambulatory systolic reduction in all of the supplemented groups. However, the mean ambulatory BP was reduced only in the CHIA (98.1 ± 2.4 to 92.8 ± 2.2 mmHg, p < 0.05) group, and there was no change in the diastolic component in either of the CHIA groups. The lipid peroxidation was reduced in the CHIA (p = 0.04) and CHIA-NM (p = 0.02) groups compared with the PLA-MD group. A reduction in the plasma nitrite levels was observed only in the CHIA group (p = 0.02). Chia flour has the ability to reduce ambulatory and clinical BP in both treated and untreated hypertensive individuals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ABPM:

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

AGP α-1:

Acid glycoprotein

BP:

Blood pressure

BMI:

Body mass index

CHIA-MD:

Chia groups previously treated with medication

CHIA-NM:

Chia without medication

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

hs-CRP:

High sensitivity C-reactive protein

MBP:

Mean blood pressure

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

PLA-MD:

Placebo with medication

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

WC:

Waist circumference

References

  1. Vieira AJ, Hinderliter AL (2009) Evaluation and management of the patient with difficult-to-control or resistant hypertension. Am Fam Physician 79:863–869, PMID: 19496385

    Google Scholar 

  2. Mohanlal V, Parsa A, Weir MR (2012) Role of dietary therapies in the prevention and treatment of hypertension. Rev Nephrol 8:413–422

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Piñeiro V, Ortiz-Moreno A, Mora-Escobedo R, Hernández-Navarro MD, Ceballos-Reyes G, Chamorro-Cevallos G (2010) Effect of L-arginine oral supplementation on response to myocardial infarction in hypercholesterolemic and hypertensive Rats. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 65:31–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Lynn A, Hamadeh H, Leung WC, Russell JM, Barker ME (2012) Effects of pomegranate juice supplementation on pulse wave velocity and blood pressure in healthy young and middle-aged men and women. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 67:309–314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Mihailovic-Stanojevic N, Belščak-Cvitanović A, Grujić-Milanović J, Ivanov M, Jovović DJ, Bugarski D, Miloradović Z (2013) Antioxidant and antihypertensive activity of extract from Thymus serpyllum L. in experimental hypertension. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 68:235–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Tighe P, Duthie G, Voughan N, Brittenden J, Simpson WG, Duthie S, Mutch W, Wahle K, Horgan G, Thies F (2010) Effect of increased consumption of whole-grain foods on blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk markers in healthy middle-aged persons: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 92:733–740

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Borneo R, Aguirre A, León AE (2010) Chia (Salvia hispanica L) gel can be used as egg or oil replacer in cake formulations. J Am Diet Assoc 110:946–949

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Reyes-Caudillo E, Tecante A, Valdivia-López MA (2008) Dietary fibre content and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds present in Mexican chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds. Food Chem 107:656–663

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Vuksan V, Jenkins AL, Dias AG, Lee AS, Jovanovski E, Rogovik AL, Hanna A (2010) Reduction in postprandial glucose excursion and prolongation of satiety: possible explanation of the long-term effects of whole grain salba (Salvia hispanica L.). Eur J Clin Nutr 64:436–438

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Vuksan V, Whitham D, Sievenpiper JL, Jenkins AL, Rogovik AL, Bazinet RP, Vidgen E, Hanna A (2007) Supplementation of conventional therapy with the novel grain salba (Salvia hispanica L.) improves major and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 30:2804–2810

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Nieman DC, Cayea EJ, Austin MD, Henson DA, McAnulty SR, Jin F (2009) Chia seed does not promote weight loss or alter disease risk factors in overweight adults. Nutr Res 29:414–418

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nieman DC, Gillitti N, Jin F, Henson DA, Kennerly K, Shanely RA, Ore B, Su M, Schwartz S (2012) Chia seed supplementation and disease risk factors in overweight women: a metabolomics investigation. J Altern Complement Med 18:700–708

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Brazilian Society of Cardiology, Brazilian Society of Hypertension, Brazilian Society of Nephrology (2010) VI Brazilian Guidelines on Hypertension. Arq Bras Cardiol 95:1–51. doi:10.1590/S0066-782X2010001700001

  14. Brazilian Society of Cardiology, Brazilian Society of Hypertension, Brazilian Society of Nephrology (2011) V Brazilian Guidelines for Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring and III Brazilian Guidelines for Home Blood Pressure Monitoring. Arq Bras Cardiol 97:1–24. doi:10.1590/449 S0066-782X2011001800001

  15. Ohkawa H, Ohishi N, Yagi K (1979) Assay for lipid peroxides in animal tissues by thiobarbituric acid reaction. Anal Biochem 95:351–358

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Green LC, Tannernbaum SR, Goldman P (1981) Nitrate synthesis in the germfree and conventional rat. Science 212:56–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Otten JJ, Hellwig JP, Meyers LD (2006) Dietary Reference Intake: the essential guide to nutrient. Requeriments. The National Academies Press, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  18. Houston MC, Cooil B, Olafsson BJ, Raggi P (2007) Juice powder concentrate and systemic blood pressure, progression of coronary artery calcium and antioxidant status in hypertensive subjects: a pilot study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 4:455–462

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Figueroa A, Sanchez-Gonzalez MA, Wong A, Arjmandi BH (2012) Watermelon extract supplementation reduces ankle blood pressure and carotid augmentation index in obese adults with prehypertension or hypertension. Am J Hypertens 25:640–643

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Rodriguez-Leyva D, Weighell W, Edel AL, Lavallee R, Dibrov E, Pinneker R, Maddaford TG, Ramjiawan B, Aliani M, Guzman R, Pierce GN (2013) Potent antihypertensive action of dietary flaxseed in hypertensive patients. Hypertens 62:1081–1089

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mancia G, Fagard R, Narkiewicz K, Redon J, Zanchetti A, Bohm M et al (2013) Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension: the task force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). J Hypertens 31:1281–1357

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Ayerza R, Coates W (2011) Protein content, oil content and fatty acid profiles as potential criteria to determine the origin of commercially grown chia (Salvia hispanica L.). Ind Crops Prod 34:1366–1371

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Poudyal H, Panchal SK, Waanders J, Ward L, Brown L (2012) Lipid redistribution by α-linolenic acid-rich chia seed inhibits stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 and induces cardiac and hepatic protection in diet-induced obese rats. J Nutr Biochem 23:153–162

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Yan Y, Jiang W, Spinetti T, Tardivel A, Castillo R, Bourquin C, Guarda G, Tian Z, Tschopp J, Zhou R (2013) Omega-3 fatty acids prevent inflammation and metabolic disorder through inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Immunity 38:1154–1163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Giordano E, Visioli F (2014) Long-chain omega3 fatty acids: molecular bases of potential antioxidant actions. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fat Acids 90:1–4

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade universitária, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Zip Code 58051-900, Brazil

    Luciana Tavares Toscano, Cássia Surama Oliveira da Silva & Lydiane Tavares Toscano

  2. Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade universitária, João Pessoa, Paraiba, Zip Code 58051-900, Brazil

    Antônio Eduardo Monteiro de Almeida, Amilton da Cruz Santos & Alexandre Sérgio Silva

  3. Rua Silvino Lopes, 410 /apto 804, Tambaú, João Pessoa, PB, Zip Code 58039-190, Brazil

    Alexandre Sérgio Silva

Authors
  1. Luciana Tavares Toscano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cássia Surama Oliveira da Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lydiane Tavares Toscano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Antônio Eduardo Monteiro de Almeida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Amilton da Cruz Santos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Alexandre Sérgio Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexandre Sérgio Silva.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Toscano, L.T., da Silva, C.S.O., Toscano, L.T. et al. Chia Flour Supplementation Reduces Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Subjects. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 69, 392–398 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-014-0452-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-014-0452-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation