Asian Research Journal of Current Science

Hypertension remains a leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease worldwide, and food-derived bioactive peptides are increasingly being investigated as potential dietary adjuncts to, rather than replacements for, evidence-based antihypertensive therapy. Fermented African locust bean, produced from the seeds of Parkia biglobosa and known regionally as dawadawa, iru, soumbala or afitin, is a traditional West African condiment obtained through solid-state fermentation dominated by Bacillus species. During fermentation, microbial and endogenous proteolysis hydrolyses seed storage proteins into smaller peptides and free amino acids while reducing selected antinutritional factors, including phytate and tannin. This structured narrative review synthesised literature published from January 2000 to 29 March 2026, with evidence interpreted according to study design, from controlled human interventions and observational studies to animal, ex vivo, in vitro and in silico investigations. Preclinical evidence from crude fermented-seed extracts indicates reductions in blood pressure and heart rate at relatively high administered doses, although these findings do not establish a peptide-specific mechanism or relevance to customary dietary intake. Human evidence is limited to a single uncontrolled community comparison in Togo and remains susceptible to dietary, lifestyle and demographic confounding. Peptide-containing extracts from both fermented and nonfermented seeds showed ACE-inhibitory activity, but the nonfermented preparation was more active in the available direct comparison. Evidence from leaf phenolics and the congeneric species Parkia timoriana provides mechanistic context but does not directly demonstrate peptide-mediated antihypertensive activity in fermented P. biglobosa. No study identified in the review had isolated, sequenced and pharmacologically validated a specific antihypertensive peptide from the fermented seed product. Fermented locust bean should therefore be regarded as a biologically plausible but insufficiently characterised candidate source of ACE-inhibitory peptides. Peptide identification, digestive-stability testing, product standardisation, safety assessment and controlled human studies are required before its proposed antihypertensive potential or use as a functional-food ingredient can be substantiated.