Anti-hypertensive activity in vitro and in vivo on royal jelly produced by different diets

Royal jelly is a glandular secretion produced by Apis mellifera L. bees, it is considered as a functional food with the ability to control and prevent chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, because in their composition there are peptides with biological activity; however, different investigations indicate that the composition of amino acids in royal jelly can be affected by the diet consumed by bees, which could influence the presence of peptides. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the food consumed by honey bees on the antihypertensive potential of the royal jelly produced. Honey bee colonies were fed with three different diet treatments: Mucuna pruriens flour and honey; pollen and honey and free feeding. The amino acid content was determined in the protein ingredients and the royal jelly obtained by every feed treatment. The antihypertensive activity was evaluated in vitro by the angiotensin converting enzyme technique. To assess the antihypertensive activity in vivo, Wistar rats were subjected to a biological model of metabolic syndrome, the rats were dosed with royal jelly and the blood pressure were measured every week. Significant differences (P<0.05) were found in the concentration of amino acids Arg and His between three types of royal jelly; regarding amino acids associated with antihypertensive activity, no significant differences (P>0.05) were found. The angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition values were less than 25%; however, the blood pressure in the groups of rats that received the royal jelly treatments was similar to the control group (P> 0.05). These results indicate that the diet with pollen or M. pruriens consumed by the bees does not affect the bioactive compounds responsible for the in vivo antihypertensive activity, and we found that the continuous consumption of royal jelly prevents the elevation in the blood pressure values.