Watermelon pill 'lowers blood pressure and could prevent strokes'
 

 

By Claire Bates
Last updated at 9:29 AM on 14th October 2010

 

Sweet treat: Watermelon was found to lower blood pressure in patients at risk of developing hypertension

A slice of watermelon at breakfast could act as an effective weapon against heart disease.

Researchers from Florida State University found an extract from the large juicy fruit worked to lower blood pressure.

Study author Professor Arturo Figueroa, said: 'These findings suggest that this 'functional food' has a vasodilatory effect, and one that may prevent prehypertension from progressing to full-blown hypertension, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.'

Professor Figueroa and Professor Bahram Arjmandi administered six grams of an amino acid from watermelon extract every day for six weeks to four men and five women aged 51 to 57-years-old.

They found there was improved arterial function and consequently lowered blood pressure in all nine patients.

Professor Figueroa said: 'Watermelon is the richest edible natural source of L-citrulline, which is closely related to L-arginine, the amino acid required for the formation of nitric oxide essential to the regulation of vascular tone and healthy blood pressure.'
 

Once in the body, the L-citrulline is converted into L-arginine. Simply consuming L-arginine as a dietary supplement isn't an option for many hypertensive adults because it can cause nausea. In contrast, watermelon is well tolerated and there were no reported adverse effects in the pilot study.

 

 

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The sweet fruit is already known to be low calorie, high fibre and nutrient rich.

Professor Figueroa said taking a watermelon pill could allow patients to reduce the amount of heart drugs they were on to control their blood pressure.
 

'Given the encouraging evidence generated by this preliminary study, we hope to continue the research and include a much larger group of participants in the next round,' he said.
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