Innovative probiotic solution to reduce blood pressure suggested as new guidance puts 7 million more people in high risk group

According to an article in the Times, doctors have expressed alarm regarding the change that would result in four in ten adults being classed as ill, and have warned of a statins-style row concerning the medicalisation of healthy people.

However, a new class of probiotics that modulate the human microbiome may be able to a help people manage their blood pressure more effectively.

OptiBiotix Health, a world leader in developing microbiome modulators, has produced a blood pressure and cholesterol-reducing probiotic called LP_LDL.

Human studies have shown that LP_LDL is not only a safe natural ingredient, but also that it reduces LDL cholesterol by up to 13.9%, and blood pressure by 5.1%.

LP_LDL was found not to cause any side-effects or adverse events. The parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised research was done by Glenn Gibson, Professor of Food Microbiology, Head of Food Microbial Sciences at the University of Reading.

Stephen O’Hara, CEO of OptiBiotix, commented: “Although these new proposed blood pressure guidelines have caused some concern from doctors, raising awareness of the dangers of elevated blood pressure is crucial for reducing the levels of cardiovascular disease in the UK."

"We believe that our microbiome modulating probiotic, LP_LDL, is not only a cutting-edge scientific development, but a safe and natural way for people to reduce their blood pressure, and to effectively manage their long-term cardiovascular risk.”

The reduction of both LDL cholesterol and blood pressure is key for managing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for more than a quarter of all deaths in the UK (26%), and more than seven million people are estimated to be living with the condition.

The combination of high blood pressure and cholesterol deposition may lead to the chronic inflammation and hardening of the walls of the blood vessels, which greatly increases the probability of suffering a cardiovascular event.

Research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2016 demonstrated that reducing LDL cholesterol and blood pressure can reduce the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease by nearly 90%.

LP_LDL is a naturally occurring strain of the bacterial species Lactobacillus plantarum, which acts by impacting the metabolism of bile acids in the intestine. Lactobacilli are common components of the human intestinal microbiome and have long been used as probiotics.

LP_LDL was selected as the optimal bacterial strain for cholesterol reduction from a collection of more than 4000 microbial candidates using OptiBiotix’s OptiScreen proprietary technology platform.

OptiBiotix has recently signed a number of agreements with food and health supplement manufacturers, including with the food division of Galenicum Health, a leading Spanish pharmaceutical group.

This agreement allowed Galenicum to sell Cardiocare, a nutritional supplement containing the LP_LDL bacterial strain, in Spain, Chile, Peru and the Middle East.

A separate agreement with HLH BioPharma, one of Europe’s leading suppliers to the pharmacy market, grants HLH a non-exclusive license to produce, package, and commercialise products containing the LP_LDL strain in Europe.