Elsevier

American Heart Journal

Volume 151, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 100.e6-100.e1
American Heart Journal

Clinical Investigation
Hypertension
Natural antioxidants from tomato extract reduce blood pressure in patients with grade-1 hypertension: A double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2005.05.008Get rights and content

Background

Treatment of hypertension (HT) can reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases. Tomato extract contains carotenoids such as lycopene, beta carotene, and vitamin E, which are known as effective antioxidants, to inactivate free radicals, and to slow the progression of atherosclerosis. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effect of tomato extract on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in grade-1 HT, on serum lipoproteins, plasma homocysteine, and oxidative stress markers.

Methods

This study is a single-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Thirty-one subject with grade-1 HT, without concomitant diseases, who required no antihypertensive or lipid-lowering drug therapy, who were recruited from primary care clinics, completed the trial. Subjects entered a 4-week placebo period, then an 8-week treatment period with tomato extract, 250 mg Lyc-O-Mato, and a 4-week control period with placebo.

Results

Systolic blood pressure decreased from 144 (SE ±1.1) to 134 mm Hg (SE ±2, P < .001), and diastolic blood pressure decreased from 87.4 (SE ±1.2) to 83.4 mm Hg (SE ±1.2, P < .05). No changes in blood pressure were demonstrated during placebo periods. Thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances, a lipid peroxidation products marker, decreased from 4.58 (SE ±0.27) to 3.81 nmol/mg (SE ±0.32, P < .05). No significant changes were found in lipid parameters.

Conclusions

A short-term treatment with antioxidant-rich tomato extract can reduce blood pressure in patients with grade-1 HT, naive to drug therapy. The continuous effect of this treatment and the long-term beneficial effect on cardiovascular risk factors still need to be demonstrated.

Section snippets

Study population

Forty patients with grade-1 HT, aged 30 to 70 years, were recruited from primary care clinics and through advertisements published in the local newspapers. Grade-1 HT was defined as SBP between 140 and 159 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between 90 and 99 mm Hg, or both, measured with the subject in the sitting position in at least 3 different occasions. Subjects treated for HT or dyslipidemia, who had any suspected allergy to tomato, carotenoids, or α-tocopherol, or taking vitamins and

Participants

Recruitment and allocation took place between March to August 2001. Thirty-four participants were included in the trial of whom 31 (91.1%) completed all study phases: 18 men and 13 women with a mean age of 48 (range 30-73) years. Three participants (8.9%) dropped out because of lack of compliance (n = 1) and complaints of dizziness (n = 1) and unspecific rash (n = 1), both during the first placebo period. Mean BMI remained constant during the course of the study (29.5 ± 4.3 at baseline and 29.2

Discussion

In this study, short-term, daily oral supplementation of carotenoid-rich tomato extract significantly decreased SBP and DBP and reduced levels of lipid peroxidation products. We particularly selected nonsmoking, recently diagnosed patients with grade-1 HT, receiving no antihypertensive or lipid-lowering pharmaceutical therapy, without significant cardiovascular risk factors other than HT. Patients who reported taking vitamins and other food additives were excluded from the trial, avoiding the

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