Drinking hibiscus tea may help to lower blood pressure

New research suggests that drinking several cups of hibiscus tea each day may help to combat high blood pressure.

Dr Diane L McKay and colleagues studied the effect of drinking hibiscus tea on the blood pressure of 65 volunteers aged 30 to 70 years whose systolic blood pressure was 120 to 150mm/Hg and whose diastolic blood pressure was 95 mm/Hg or less at the start of the study. Volunteers were randomly assigned to drink three cups of hibiscus tea or a placebo drink containing artificial hibiscus flavouring and color each day for six weeks.

Results showed that systolic blood pressure dropped by 7.2% in those who drank the hibiscus tea, in comparison systolic blood pressure dropped by just 1.3% in those assigned to the placebo. The effect of hibiscus tea was even greater in volunteers with the highest systolic blood pressure (129 mm/Hg and above), their systolic blood pressure dropped by 13.2% per cent and their diastolic blood pressure fell by 6.4%.

The researchers concluded: “Daily consumption of 3 cups of hibiscus tea, an amount readily incorporated into the diet, lowers blood pressure in pre- and mildly hypertensive adults and may prove an effective component of the dietary changes recommended for people at risk of developing hypertension.”

McKay DL, Saltzman E, Chen CY, Blumberg JB. Abstract 3278: Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Tea (Tisane) Lowers Blood Pressure in Prehypertensive and Mildly Hypertensive Adults. Circulation 2008;118:S_1123. Presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2008.