Dietary intake of fermented soymilk is associated with hypotensive effects, but the mechanisms involved have not been fully elucidated. We investigated the anti-hypertensive effects of soymilk fermented by L. rhamnosus AC1 on DOCA-salt hypertension from the point of view of oxidative stress, inflammatory response and alteration of the gut microbiome. The antioxidant assays in vitro indicated the ethanol extract (EE) of L. rhamnosus AC1 fermented soymilk showed better antioxidative effects than the water extract (WE). Those extracts displayed a hypotensive effect using a tail-cuff approach to measuring blood pressure and improved nitric oxide (NO), angiotensin II (Ang II), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin factor-6 (IL-6) on DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Furthermore, cardiac and renal fibrosis were attenuated by those extracts. The gut microbiota analysis revealed that they significantly reduced the abundance of phylum Proteobacteria, its family Enterobacteriaceae and genus Escherichia-Shigella. Moreover, metabolomic profiling revealed several potential gut microbiota-related metabolites which appeared to involve in the development and recovery of hypertension. In conclusion, fermented soymilk is a promising nutritional intervention strategy to improve hypertension via reducing inflammation and reverting dysbiotic microbiota.
Keywords: L. rhamnosus AC1; fermented soymilk; gut microbiota; hypertension.