Author(s)

Kshetrimayum Birla Singh

Department of Zoology, Pachhunga University College, Mizoram University, Aizawl, India.

Metal ions played critical role in regulation of hypertension (HT) or blood pressure (BP). The physiological roles of metals commonly present in the diet in the etiology of HT need to be reviewed as recent survey on the metal status in the various vegetable and meat food stuffs commonly consumed by living population in India revealed an imbalance in its level. Higher levels of zinc (Zn) in diet is observed to increase the BP by various mechanisms including oxidative stress through decreased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme, increasing levels of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and aldosterone and by causing acidification due to change in the levels of H⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions in the blood. High level of copper (Cu) and low level of magnesium (Mg) and manganese (Mn) in the blood is also associated with HT through various mechanisms like elevation of chronic inflammation, accelerating Na⁺ pump of cell membrane and by disturbing lipid metabolism in the body. An epidemiological study conducted in the population of Manipur, India consuming Zn rich diet reveals significant disparities in distribution of the metals in the blood of the hypertensive (HTS) patients as compared to the normotensives (NT) control and thus indicates that the change in body metal homeostasis may be a triggering factor for the development of HT in this population and corroborate the reports of published literatures. The role of the metals variations in the body and their possible involvement in HT is reviewed and discussed in this paper.

Zn, Cu, Mg, Mn, Hypertension, India

Singh, K. (2016) Molecular Basis of Hypertension: A Systematic Review on the Role of Metal Ions for Increase Prevalence of Hypertension in India. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 4, 12-22. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2016.47002.