Food-Derived Peptides That Lower Blood Pressure: How They Work and Where They Come From | Research

The takeaway

Food-derived peptides that block the blood-pressure-raising enzyme ACE show promise as natural alternatives to pharmaceutical ACE inhibitors, though bioavailability and clinical evidence gaps remain.

Natural ACE blockers
Peptides from foods like milk, fish, and soybeans can inhibit the same enzyme targeted by pharmaceutical blood pressure drugs

What the researchers found

Food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides — obtained through natural extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis, or fermentation of foods — can block the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), a key driver of high blood pressure. This review maps the landscape of these peptides: their food sources, how they're produced, their structural characteristics, and their antihypertensive activity in both lab and animal studies.

The production method significantly shapes which peptides are generated and how well they work — peptide chain length, amino acid composition, and sequence all determine ACE-inhibitory potency. Bioavailability remains a key challenge, as peptides must survive digestion to reach the bloodstream.

Why it matters

Hypertension affects roughly 1.3 billion people worldwide and is the leading modifiable risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Standard ACE inhibitor drugs (like lisinopril) are effective but come with side effects including persistent cough and angioedema. Food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides could offer a natural, lower-side-effect approach to blood pressure management — either as supplements or functional foods. Understanding their mechanisms and bioavailability is essential for translating them from lab curiosity to practical health intervention.

The numbers in context

Multiple food sources characterized · Production methods: extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation · Structural determinants: chain length, amino acid composition, sequence · In vitro and in vivo activity data reviewed

How the study worked

Systematic narrative review of published literature on food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides, covering their sources, production methods, structural characteristics, mechanisms of action, in vitro and in vivo activity, and bioavailability.

Who was studied

Review article — covers research on food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides from various sources

What this study cannot tell us

This is a review, not a primary study. Most evidence for food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides comes from in vitro assays and animal studies — human clinical data is relatively limited. Lab-measured ACE inhibition doesn't always translate to real blood pressure reduction in living systems because of bioavailability challenges. The review doesn't systematically grade evidence quality across studies.

How to read the evidence

This is a review article synthesizing primarily in vitro and animal data. While the ACE-inhibitory mechanism is well-established, human clinical evidence for most specific food-derived peptides is limited.

When this study was published

Published in 2025 in Life (Basel). This is a current review capturing the latest advances in a field that has been growing for over two decades.

The bigger picture

The functional food and nutraceutical market is booming, and blood-pressure-lowering peptides are among the most commercially developed bioactive peptides. Products like Lactobacillus-fermented milk drinks containing ACE-inhibitory tripeptides (VPP and IPP) have been marketed in Japan and Europe. This review provides the scientific foundation for understanding which peptides work, why, and what challenges remain in making them effective real-world interventions.

Questions still open

Which food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides have the strongest human clinical evidence for blood pressure reduction?
Can encapsulation or other delivery technologies solve the bioavailability problem for oral peptide supplements?
How do food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides compare in potency and side effect profile to pharmaceutical ACE inhibitors?

Common questions

Can eating certain foods actually lower blood pressure through peptides?

Potentially. Peptides from milk, fish, soybeans, and fermented foods have been shown to block ACE in laboratory studies and lower blood pressure in some animal and human studies. However, the effect is generally modest compared to pharmaceutical drugs, and the peptides must survive digestion to work — which is a significant challenge. Some fermented milk products with these peptides are already sold commercially.

How do food peptides compare to blood pressure medications?

Food-derived ACE-inhibitory peptides are much weaker than pharmaceutical ACE inhibitors like lisinopril. Their advantage is a better safety profile with fewer side effects. They're best viewed as a complementary approach — potentially helpful for borderline blood pressure or alongside medication — rather than a replacement for prescribed drugs. Always consult your doctor before relying on supplements for blood pressure management.

Read the original research

Research Progress on the Mechanism of Action of Food-Derived ACE-Inhibitory Peptides.

Life (Basel, Switzerland), 15(8)

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Li, Ting; Du, Wanjia; Huang, Huiyan; Wan, Luzhang; Shang, Chenglong; Mao, Xue; Kong, Xianghui. (2025). Research Progress on the Mechanism of Action of Food-Derived ACE-Inhibitory Peptides.. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 15(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/life15081219