Effects of dry-cured ham rich in bioactive peptides on cardiovascular health: A randomized controlled trial

•Biopeptides present in dry-cured ham can act as ACE inhibitors.•The consumption of dry-cured ham did not affect sodium excretion nor blood pressure.•Cholesterol and LDL levels only decreased after the interventional treatment.•The intake of dry-cured ham might have a blood glucose regulatory capacity too.•Bioactive compounds from dry-cured ham could contribute as nutritional therapy in CVD. Establishing health effects of bioactive compounds from dry-cured meat is an active area of clinical research. The present study aims to investigate whether consuming dry-cured ham with biopeptides, among other bioactive compounds, modifies blood pressure (BP) and improves other risk factors for cardiovascular disease in humans. This two-arm, cross-over, randomised controlled trial involved 38 healthy subjects with pre-hypertension. Participants received 80g/day dry-cured pork ham or 100g/day cooked ham (control product). A daily intake of 80g dry-cured ham did not impair BP or 24h sodium excretion. Total cholesterol, LDL and basal glucose levels dropped after dry-cured ham consumption (p=0.00019, p=0.021 and p=0.014, respectively). Cooked ham did not affect any of the clinical and biochemical markers. Dry-cured ham components could exert a plethora of activities over the cardiovascular system including lipid and glucose metabolism. Additional studies are needed to confirm the effects of dry-cured meat biopeptides on diverse risk factors in pathological conditions.