EFFECTS OF EXTRACT FROM LACTOBACILLUS-CAS EI ON BLOOD-PRESSURE, CEREBRAL STROKE LESIONS, AND LIFE-SPAN IN STROKE-PRONE SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS (SHRSP)

The effects of long-term oral feeding of an extract from Lactobacillus casei (LEx), which has antihypertensive activity, on blood pressure, cerebral stroke lesions, and life span of stroke-prone spontaneously h ypertensive rats (SHRSP) were studied. The usual elevation in blood pr essure was depressed by oral intake of 1 or 10 mg of extract per kilog ram of body weight daily for 11 weeks. LEx did not affect body weight or food intake. In the control group, the water intake increased with age, but in the group given LEx, water intake was unchanged. The mean life span of the group given 10 mg of LEx per kilogram of body weight daily was significantly longer than that of the control group. Differe nces in the organ weights of the control and treated groups were not s ignificant except for the heavier kidneys in the treated group week 5 after treatment began. In rats given 10 mg of LEx per kilogram of body weight daily, the incidence of cerebral stroke lesions was less than in the control group. LEx inhibited fibrinoid degeneration of the arte riola. These results suggest that the prolongation of life span result ed from suppression by LEx of the usual elevation of blood pressure in these rats and the subsequent reduction in the incidence of vascular lesions in the cerebrum, organs, and tissues.