薬理と治療

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of α-linolenic acid ingestion on blood pressure（BP）in Japanese with high-normal BP. A double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled study was conducted. In study 1, 2.6 g/day of α-linolenic acid was ingested daily for 12 weeks, and in study 2, 7.8 g/day of α-linolenic acid was ingested for 4 weeks. Eligible subjects for study 1 had high-normal BP and grade Ⅰhypertension, and for study 2, eligible subjects had normal BP or high-normal BP, and grade Ⅰ hypertension. The subjects who enrolled were divided into two groups. In the two studies, the diet was controlled such that the nutrients intake was similar except for the different intakes of α-linolenic acid. Measurements of BP were performed as the primary outcome, plus physical measurements, blood collection, and urine collection. The data obtained were anonymized and stratified with normal-range BP and grade Ⅰ hypertension subjects, and analyses were performed.　In study 1, high-normal BP subjects had a significant antihypertensive effect on systolic and diastolic BP（P＜0.05）, but grade Ⅰ hypertension subjects had no significant effect. There were no clinically significant changes in the indicators of body weight, blood, and urine, in either study 1 or study 2.　In conclusion, these results suggest that α-linolenic acid ingestion in high︱normal BP subjects has a significant antihypertensive effect on both systolic and diastolic BPs, but that even if the intake is increased by a factor of three, it might have no significant clinical impact.