Chicken reduces high blood pressure, research shows

Washington, October 15: A new research has found that Chicken soup, which has acquired the reputation of a common home remedy for colds and influenza, can also help in lowering high blood pressure.

According to a Japanese study, a certain chemical found in chicken leg meat helps reduce tension in muscles, which in turn can reduce the tension in our blood vessels and, hence, our blood pressure too.

Lead researcher Ai Saiga of Nippon Meat Packers and colleagues cited earlier findings indicating that chicken breast contains collagen proteins with effects similar to ACE (Angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, the medicines used to reduce elevated blood pressure. The ACE inhibitor class includes drugs like captropril, fosinopril, lisinopril, perindopril, ramipril and trandolapril.

In the study, chicken soup, also known as "Grandma's Penicillin", appeared to be a rich source of collagen proteins. Chicken breasts contain very small amounts of the proteins, while other parts of the chicken, such as legs and feet provide comparatively more collagen proteins.

To test collagen’s ACE inhibitor-like ability in lab studies, Saiga and colleagues extracted collagen from chicken legs, which are often discarded as waste products in the United States and are major soup ingredients elsewhere.

The researchers found four different proteins in the chicken collagen mixture with high ACE-inhibitory activity. This mixture was then given to rats, in whom the researchers had induced high blood pressure, to model the human condition. The proteins showed significant and prolonged lowering of blood pressure in the lab rats, the researchers said.

“Control of blood pressure by means of diet is considered to be very important, therefore the objective of this study was to contribute to the widening of the range of foods that are appropriate for hypertensive patients," Saiga said.

Although the recent findings are of much significance, Saiga said more studies are needed before anything conclusive can be found.

Findings of the Japanese research are scheduled for publication in the October 22 issue of ACS biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Chicken soup, a soup made by boiling chicken parts or bones in water, with various vegetables and flavorings, according to historians, was prescribed as a cure for the common cold in Ancient Egypt. Some previous researches have proved the curative powers of chicken soup.

As the chicken soup is simple to prepare, relatively cheap, nutritious, and easily digested, it is a good food for winter convalescents. Sipping warm soup can also clear the sinuses because of the steam ventilating into the nasal passages, serving as a natural decongestant, which also relieves cold and flu symptoms.