A red wine vinegar beverage can inhibit the renin-angiotensin system: experimental evidence in vivo.

A new beverage made of red wine vinegar and grape juice (Budo-no-megumi) was developed for people who wish to take effective amount of both polyphenols and vinegar. Since the beverage was recently demonstrated to exert hypotensive effect in rats, we analyzed its underlying mechanisms in this study. Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital, and the blood pressure and lead II ECG were continuously monitored (n=6). The effects of recommended volume of the beverage (3 ml/kg, p.o.) on the renin-angiotensin system were assessed in vivo. At the basal control state, the increase in the mean blood pressure induced by the angiotensin I (1 microg/kg, i.v.) and norepinephrine (0.3-3 microg/kg, i.v.) were +57+/-2 and +36+/-8 mmHg, respectively. Sixty minutes after the administration of the beverage, the angiotensin I-induced pressor response decreased to +45+/-7 mmHg at 60 min (p<0.05), whereas no significant change was detected in the norepinephrine-induced pressor response. In another parallel series of the experiment using Sprague-Dawley rats (n=6), the serum angiotensin-converting enzyme activity was 39.4+/-1.2 IU/l at basal control state, which was slightly but significantly decreased to 37.0+/-1.4 IU/l at 60 min after the administration of the beverage (p<0.01). These results suggest that previously described hypotensive action of the beverage may be partly induced by the inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme.