Abstract

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) (EC 3.4.15.1) is a nonspecific dipeptidylcarboxypeptidase that converts angiotensin I into a potent vasoconstricting, hypertensive angiotensin II. Inhibition of ACE results in an overall antihypertensive effect and several drugs are currently in use to inhibit the ACE activity such as captopril, enalapril etc. Purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of Indian Gooseberry, Guava, Wood Apple and Star fruit for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity using Hippuryl-L-istidyl-Lleucine (HHL) as a substrate. An in vitro study was carried out using sheep lung as an enzyme source and both dialyzed and undialyzed fruit extracts were used for testing their ability to reduce the ACE activity. The study revealed that both undialyzed and dialyzed extracts of all four fruits exhibited ACE inhibitory activity which could be due to the varied amounts of phytoconstituents present in the extracts (i. e., phenols, flavanoids, ascorbic acid and protein contents).