Hypertension is described as one of the risk factors in arterial and cardiovascular health. With increasing hypertension risk in all age groups and side-effects of vasodilator drugs, need for an effective natural cure is crucial. Wild berries provide valuable biologically active phytochemicals which can also neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are pathological mediators in many chronic diseases including hypertension. Present research was carried out to study the total bioactive content and antioxidant capacity of ethanol extracts of wild berries and their ability to inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) which is principal blood pressure regulating enzyme. Among the investigated five species of cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus L.), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), cranberry (V. macrocarpon), partridgeberry (V. vitis-idaea), the highest anthocyanin content was found in early harvested crowberry while late harvested fruit of lingonberry exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity and phenolic content (p≤0.05). The ACE inhibition by berry extracts was measured by using a florescence based assay at presence of histidine –L-hippuryl-L-histidine-chloride substrate. All the berry extracts showed a concentration responsive enzyme inhibition in vitro indicating effective ACE inhibition. However, partridgeberry and cranberry were among the most effective (p=0.05). This study has demonstrated potential cardiovascular health benefits of berries and further studies are warranted to confirm the results using cell lines, animal and clinical studies.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease, hypertension, natural health products, wild berries