Black Garlic and Pomegranate Standardized Extracts for Blood Pressure Improvement: A Non-Randomized Diet-Controlled Study

Abstract

Recently released position papers by the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the Italian Society of Hypertension (SIIA) provide therapeutic recommendations for the use of nutraceuticals in the management of high blood pressure (BP) and hypertension, opening up new perspectives in the field. This not-randomized diet-controlled clinical study aimed to evaluate if daily dietary supplementation with black garlic and pomegranate (namely SelectSIEVE® SlowBeat) could advantageously affect BP in individuals with high-normal BP or stage I hypertension. Enrolled subjects were adhering to a Mediterranean DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet for two weeks before deciding whether to continue following Mediterranean DASH diet alone or in association with SelectSIEVE® SlowBeat. At the end of the study, dietary supplementation with SelectSIEVE® SlowBeat was associated with significant improvement in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) compared to baseline (Pre-treatment: SBP = 134.3 ± 4.2 and DBP = 88.2 ± 3.4; 4-Week Follow-up: SBP = 130.1 ± 2.8 and DBP= 83.7 ± 2.6). SBP improved also in comparison with control. In conclusion, the study shows that dietary supplementation with extracts from black garlic and pomegranate safely exert significant improvements in BP in healthy individuals adhering to a Mediterranean DASH diet.

Keywords

• black garlic
• pomegranate
• angiotensin-converting enzyme
• DASH diet
• blood pressure
• hypertension