## 1 Introduction
Maintaining adequate blood pressure levels is highly important because even a moderate elevation can reduce life expectancy [22; 23]. At high pressures, a person may not expect to live more than a few years for three main reasons. First, the excessive workload for the heart leads to the development of diseases such as congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease [24; 25; 26; 27], or both, which frequently result in death due to a heart attack. Second, elevated pressure frequently causes a major blood vessel in the brain to rupture, leading to a stroke [28]. Depending on which part of the brain is affected, a stroke may cause paralysis, dementia, blindness, or multiple other brain disorders [29]. Lastly, a high blood pressure almost always causes multiple hemorrhages in the kidneys, resulting in widespread renal destruction and, ultimately, renal failure, uremia, and death. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent hypertension through various mechanisms, among which dietary approaches are gaining increasing importance [8]. Beer is an ancient beverage that has long been part of the Mediterranean diet. This natural beverage, obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of a malted barley extract, hasbeen the subject of numerous studies in recent years, demonstrating that moderate beer consumption is beneficial to health [30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41]. Beer is a significant source of nutrients and health-promoting elements, including B vitamins (folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, thiamine, pantothenic acid, biotin, and vitamin B12), minerals (magnesium, calcium), carbohydrates (soluble fiber), natural antioxidants, and other substances derived from its primary ingredients (malted barley, hops, water, and yeast) [30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39]. Numerous studies indicate that moderate beer consumption in healthy adults is compatible with a balanced diet and that it protects the body from oxidation and cellular aging, potentially preventing or delaying cardiovascular diseases, among others [9; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 42; 43]. Thus, beer consumption has been proposed as a dietary factor capable of reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension [30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 44; 45; 46]. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unknown. Therefore, the use and/or recommendation of beer in a diet must be based on a thorough understanding of both its benefits and risks [47]. Here, we analyze the effect of the consumption of alcoholic beer (AB) and non-alcoholic beer (NAB) on heart rate, blood pressure, serum biochemistry (electrolytes, glucose and non-protein nitrogenous compounds, protein and enzymes and lipid profile) and the activity of RAS-regulating proteolytic enzymes in serum and the tissues involved in blood pressure regulation in healthy Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs). As more studies suggest that beer consumption positively influences cardiovascular health, it is crucial to understand the biochemical mechanisms by which these beneficial effects are exerted. Therefore, we hypothesize that beer consumption, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, influences blood pressure regulation through the modulation of the activity of enzymes that regulate the RAS, as well as affecting other metabolic and functional parameters. This study will provide valuable information regarding the ability of AB and NAB to influence blood pressure regulation.