Prevention of salt induced hypertension in rats by oral administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus Yoghurt

A high salt diet can elevate blood pressure in humans and other susceptible animal species. A high proportion of our indigenous foods are fermented products and Lactobacillus species have been reported to be the predominant flora in many of our indigenous fermentation processes. In this study, the effect of concurrent oral administration of a yoghurt (produced by fermenting skimmed milk with a strain of L. acidophilus isolated from an indigenous fermented food) on salt loaded male Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated. The acidophilus yoghurt was found to prevent the development of hypertension in the salt loaded rats (p<0.05) without significant changes in heart rate, plasma Na⁺, Cl^-,HCO₃^- levels. This shows a potential application of Lactobacillus derived probiotics in the prevention of cardiovascular disease risk factor.