TUESDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- A protein extracted from ordinary yellow peas has potential as a food additive or dietary supplement to reduce high blood pressure and relieve chronic kidney disease, according to research presented at the American Chemical Society's 237th National Meeting held March 22 to 26 in Salt Lake City.
Rotimi Aluko, Ph.D., at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and colleagues conducted an experiment in which rats with polycystic kidney disease were fed a special diet containing either 1 percent or 0.5 percent levels of the pea protein hydrolysate (PPH) for eight weeks. The rats' blood pressure was taken each week from four to eight weeks, and their output of urine was measured at week eight.
The researchers found that the PPH-supplemented diet reduced blood pressure associated with polycystic kidney disease by 20 percent, increased urine output by 30 percent, and increased the level of the desirable cyclooxygenase-1 protein in kidney tissues. There were no changes discerned in angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in blood and lungs, but the level of angiotensin II was lowered significantly, the researchers reported.
"In people with high blood pressure, our protein could potentially delay or prevent the onset of kidney damage," Aluko said in a statement. "In people who already have kidney disease, our protein may help them maintain normal blood pressure levels so they can live longer."
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