Abstract
Chicken essence (CE) is known for its antihypertensive properties. However, few studies have investigated the effects of CE in prehypertensive individuals. Here, we conducted a randomized crossover clinical trial on prehypertensive offspring of hypertensive parents to evaluate the effects of preworkout CE consumption (CEC) on post-exercise hypotension (PEH) and cardiac autonomic and vascular responses. Ten prehypertensive males participated in three randomly ordered sessions: a resting control (REST) condition and two exercise conditions involving CEC and an exercise control (CON). The participants in the CEC condition consumed CE daily for seven days prior to the experimental sessions. Measurements were taken before and after each intervention. The results showed that the CEC condition resulted in significantly lower systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) at night compared with the CON and REST conditions (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). This reduction in SBP and MAP in the CEC condition was observed as early as 10 min and persisted for up to 12 h after a single exercise session. Only the CEC condition showed significantly higher root mean square of successive differences at night (P<0.05) and across a 24-h period (P<0.05). Moreover, we observed a significantly lower brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity 30 min post-exercise (P<0.05). These findings support the efficacy of CE in promoting PEH, particularly with greater reductions in SBP, DBP, and MAP at night, while also enhancing post-exercise vagal activity and reducing vascular stiffness. Thus, CEC may be an effective strategy for preventing hypertension.