Chicken soup, a popular home remedy for the common cold, may have a new role fighting high blood pressure.
Previous studies have indicated that chicken breast contains collagen proteins with effects similar to ACE inhibitors, mainstay medications for treating high blood pressure. But chicken breast contains such small amounts of the proteins that it could not be used to develop food and medical products for high blood pressure. However, chicken legs and feet, key soup ingredients in many parts of the world, appear to be a better source.
Researchers extracted collagen from chicken legs and tested its ability to act as an ACE inhibitor in the laboratory studies. When given to rats used to model human high blood pressure, the proteins produced a significant and prolonged blood pressure decrease.