Enhanced milk and other drink products that reduce blood pressure could soon be a possibility, following the discovery by a University of Limerick research team that a key component in milk reduces blood pressure when processed in a certain way.
The EU-funded research has found that specific milk protein fragments - known as peptides - have the ability to inhibit a key enzyme which is central to the control of blood pressure.
Scientists at the University of Limerick (UL) have been generating and extracting the peptides from milk proteins. The use of a biological catalyst unlocks the peptides, which could then be returned to milk, or included in an alternative drink format. Currently, synthetic drugs known as ACE inhibitors are used to control blood pressure. They prevent the angiotensin-I-converting (or ACE) enzyme from converting angiotensin I to angiotensin II.
Angiotensin II can lead to high blood pressure or hypertension if present in high levels in the circulatory system.
Dr Richard FitzGerald, of the Department of Life Sciences in UL, is the overall leader of the trans-European, research project. The UL team includes his colleagues, Dr Daniel Walsh and Mr Brian Murray.
Dr FitzGerald said the three-year project was yielding exciting results, with promising human trials underway at the renowned Ninewells Hospital and Medical Centre at the University of Dundee.
The milk processor Glanbia is an industrial partner in this project and is looking at the potential of developing products using these peptides. The €1.3 million project is partly funded under the EU's Fifth Framework Programme and involves partners in Germany, France and Scotland.
Dr FitzGerald said the project could provide a potential "functional food" - a food or food component that provides medical or health benefits beyond basic nutrition.
