Today, May 17, is World High Blood Pressure Day and from Salengei we want to share with you relevant information and analyze some important issues to take into account.

As our blog and most of our products are geared towards wellness and anti-aging, our approach to hypertension will be a little different.
That is why we will analyze some studies related to our subject.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is a disorder that occurs frequently in humans. It is mostly associated with age and often leads to cardiovascular alterations.
It is therefore a phenomenon where there is a continuous increase in blood pressure values in the arterial walls.
Being a multi-organ disorder, we find several factors involved in this pathology, such as the endocrine system, microcirculation and large vessels.
And if we talk about external factors, we can add the combination of genetic and environmental factors.

The cause of essential arterial hypertension remains unknown but it is known that its involvement with chronic diseases is undeniable.
Thus, it is usually grouped with diabetes, overweight, hyperlipidemia and of course aging.

42.6% of the Spanish adult population aged 18 years ≥ years is hypertensive, more men (49.9%) than women (37.1%).

The pathophysiology is quite complex and beyond the objectives of this article, but we can differentiate different stages in the course of the disease.
In the first periods, there would be quite subtle damage to target organs such as the left ventricle of the heart, the appearance of microalbuminuria that denotes damage to the kidneys and cognitive dysfunction, which echoes brain injury.

Treatment usually involves the administration of at least two drugs that work concomitantly, one of them would be to control the pressure in effect, and the other to relieve the associated factors, such as hyperlipidemia.

Why does it occur?

Several key mechanisms, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction, are common to biological aging and the development of hypertension and appear to have key mechanical roles in the development of the cardiovascular and collateral risks of hypertension in old age.
Arterial stiffness reflects the gradual fragmentation and loss of elastin fibers and the accumulation of stiffer collagen fibers in the tunica media of the great arteries and occurs independently of atherosclerosis.

Aging is associated with a lower elastin/collagen ratio which is due, in part, to greater degradation of elastin and greater accumulation of stiffer collagen.
Elastin degradation is associated with progressive aortic stiffness and increased mortality.
The upregulation of MMPs (matrix metalloproteinases) may be involved in the elastin fragmentation and collagen deposition associated with aging.

The prevalence was higher in people with diabetes, overweight, hyperlipidemia and also aging

Let us remember that MMPs are enzymes involved in different processes, both physiological and pathological.
These enzymes are capable of degrading various protein substrates in the extracellular matrix, influencing endothelial cell function, as well as the migration, proliferation, and contraction of vascular smooth muscle cells.
The activation of these processes may be due to chronically elevated blood pressure values.

Inhibition of MMPs results in preservation of intact elastin fibers, elimination of collagen deposition, and reduction of age-associated increase in blood pressure.
A recent study indicated that MMP2 expression and activity may be regulated by calpain-1.
Overexpression of calpain-1 activates MMP2, which causes elastin degradation and increases collagen I and III production.
Calpain-1 also induces TGFβ1/Smad transforming growth factor signaling and alkaline phosphatase activation and increases total calcium content, but reduces the expression of calcification inhibitors, osteopontin and osteonectin, in vitro cultured cells and ex vivo arterial rings.
Calpain-1 and MMP2 crosstalk leads to the secretion of active MMP2, which remodels the extracellular matrix by increasing collagen deposition and vascular calcification, resulting in increased arterial stiffness.
Calpain-1 levels increase with aging within the human aortic intima, establishing it as a potential molecular candidate for attenuating hypertension and age-associated extracellular matrix remodeling. https://doi.org/10.1161/HIPERTENSIONAHA.114.03617

The functions of berberine

As we have already discussed in previous articles, berberine is an isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from Coptis chinensis and other plants.
It has a wide range of pharmacological properties since it can be used to treat various diseases such as digestive, metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological.
Berberine can inhibit toxins and bacteria, including Helicobacter pylori, protect the intestinal epithelial barrier, and improve liver injury.

In addition, berberine regulates carbohydrate metabolism and lipid metabolism, improves energy expenditure, reduces body weight and relieves non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
It also improves cardiovascular hemodynamics, suppresses ischemic arrhythmias, attenuates the development of atherosclerosis and reduces hypertension.
Berberine shows potent neuroprotective effects, including antioxidants, anti-apoptotics, and antiischemics.

Berberine can help reduce high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as blood sugar and blood pressure levels

In recent times, very promising results have been evidenced in the use of berberine for the concomitant treatment of arterial hypertension.
The mechanism involved would be given by the reversible inhibition of paraprotein convertase subtilisin/kesin-9 (PCSK9). https://doi.org/10.1161/01.ATV.0000181761.16341.2b

Other mechanisms have also been seen, such as reducing the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine, increasing its excretion and favoring the formation of bile acids. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-015-0629-3

As if all this were not enough, berberine reversibly inhibits oxidative stress mediated by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and activates 5 ́AMP activated lipoprotein kinase (AMPK), which consequently leads to reduced lipogenic gene expression, contributes to increased fatty acid oxidation, improves insulin sensitivity and relieves blood pressure levels. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.90710.2008

A study of laboratory rats showed that activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in endothelial cells leads to increased oxidative stress and often leads to cell death, which has been linked to hypertension.
That study investigated the effects of berberine on endoplasmic reticulum oxidative stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
The results suggested that berberine would reduce endothelium-dependent contractions likely through AMPK activation, thereby inhibiting oxidative stress of the endoplasmic reticulum and subsequently leading to the removal of free radicals from oxygen that would lead to COX-2 downregulation in the carotid arteries. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.02.028

Conclusion

So far, there are several pharmacological treatments to treat high blood pressure.
This involves the administration of a minimum of two different types of medications in order to limit the progression of the disease and treat the deleterious effects on the target organs.

Berberine is a natural type of supplement, with several concatenated actions that would not only treat the underlying cause that generates hypertension, but would also cause changes in the mechanisms associated with an increase in blood pressure.

ACTIVE BERBERINE from Salengei comes in the form of 60 capsules per container.
Each capsule contains 675 mg, of which 500 mg are exclusively from 97% berberis aristata from the dry extract of barberry.
As additional components, we have incorporated 10 mg of vitamin E in the form of D-alpha tocopherol succinate and 1 mg of caprylic acid. Active Berberine is taken with meals at the rate of one capsule daily.