Effect of proanthocyanidins on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Jingyi Ren; Jiaqi An; Mengyuan Chen; Haiyue Yang; Yuxia Ma

doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2020.105329

Effect of proanthocyanidins on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Pharmacol Res. 2021 Mar:165:105329. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.105329. Epub 2021 Jan 16.

Authors

Jingyi Ren¹, Jiaqi An², Mengyuan Chen³, Haiyue Yang³, Yuxia Ma⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Environment and Human Health, Shijiazhuang, China.
² Undergraduate of College of Basic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
³ Undergraduate of College of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
⁴ Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Environment and Human Health, Shijiazhuang, China. Electronic address: mayuxia@hebmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33465473
DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.105329

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is a common chronic disease that can lead to serious health problems. Previous studies have not drawn a consistent conclusion about the effect of proanthocyanidins (PCs) on blood pressure (BP). This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effect of PCs supplementation on blood pressure (BP).

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in 6 databases (Pubmed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar) to identify the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the BP-lowering effect of PCs. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the potential heterogeneity. Meta-regression analysis was used to evaluate dose effects of PCs on BP.

Results: A total of 6 studies comprising 376 subjects were included in our meta-analysis to estimate the pooled effect size. This meta-analysis suggested that PCs supplementation could significantly reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) (WMD: -4.598 mmHg; 95 % CI: -8.037, -1.159; I² = 33.7 %; p = 0.009), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (WMD: -2.750 mmHg; 95 % CI: -5.087, -0.412; I² = 0.0 %; p = 0.021) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (WMD: -3.366 mmHg; 95 % CI: -6.719, -0.041 mmHg; I² = 0.0 %; p = 0.049), but had no significant effect on pulse pressure (PP) (WMD: -2.131 mmHg; 95 % CI: -6.292, 2.030; I² = 0.0 %; p = 0.315). When the studies were stratified according to the duration of the study, there was a significant reduction on SBP in the subset of the trials with <12 weeks of duration. On the contrary, there was a significant reduction on DBP in the subset of the trials with ≥12 weeks of duration. The Subgroup analysis by BMI indicated that a significant reduction on SBP for people with a higher BMI (BMI ≥ 25) and a significant reduction on DBP for people with a lower BMI (BMI < 25). Additional subgroup analysis revealed low-dose-PCs (<245 mg/day) could significantly reduce SBP, DBP and MAP. The meta-regression analyses did not indicate the dose effects of PCs on SBP, DBP, PP and MAP.

Conclusion: Based on the current findings, PCs supplementation may be a useful treatment of hypertensive patients as well as a preventive measure in the prehypertensive and healthy subjects. However, further investigation is needed to confirm these results.

Keywords: Blood pressure; Meta-analysis; Proanthocyanidins; Proanthocyanidins (CID: 122173182); Procyanidin (CID: 107876); Systematic review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Antihypertensive Agents / therapeutic use*
Blood Pressure / drug effects*
Humans
Hypertension / drug therapy
Proanthocyanidins / therapeutic use*
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Substances

Antihypertensive Agents
Proanthocyanidins