261: Harnessing the Gut Microbiome: A Nutraceutical Strategy Using Egg White Hydrolysate for Hypertension Progression

Introduction

Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Hypertension pharmaceuticals address one of its mechanisms such as the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), vascular inflammation, and oxidative stress, overlooking the microbiome mechanism while presenting side effects. Natural alternatives such as egg white hydrolysate (EWH) have shown antihypertensive activity in vivo but have not targeted the microbiome mechanism to create a synergy to reduce hypertension progression. This study aimed to elucidate the microbiome's role through digestion-resistant protein in reducing hypertension progression in synergy with the EWH antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-hypertensive activity in vivo.

Methods

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (3-4 weeks old) were treated with egg white hydrolysate (SHR-EWH) for 12 weeks along with a control. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured weekly by plethysmography. Feces were collected every 4 weeks along with blood, plasma, and tissue samples at the endpoint. RAS markers were analyzed by Western blot, superoxide in blood through electron paramagnetic resonance, cytokines in plasma by a magnetic bead panel, and microbiome taxonomic analysis was performed through 16s rRNA gene sequencing.

Results

EWH showed anti-hypertensive activity by decreasing MAP after 12 weeks. ACE2, responsible for vasodilation, was upregulated in the SHR-EWH aorta against the control. A decrease in granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a neutrophil-producer stimulant, suggested anti-inflammatory activity while no effect on oxidative stress was observed. SHR-EWH had a higher abundance of Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 and Phascolarctobacterium genus. Both were identified as short-chain fatty acid producers, specifically propionate, previously shown as anti-inflammatory. Microbiome analysis indicates EWH synergistic anti-inflammatory bioactivity, potentially enabling a new dietary approach to reduce hypertension progression.

Significance

This study supports a paradigm shift on microbiome protein fermentation as a novel alternative to reduce hypertension progression by acting synergistically with its anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and RAS-modulating bioactivities, facilitating new applications in the health and nutrition of dietary protein-derived alternatives.

Authors: Emerson Nolaso, Devin Rose, Kaustav Majumder