Hibiscus tea shown to lower blood pressure

Monday April 13, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- A cup of hibiscus tea can significantly lower blood pressure, say researchers at the American Heart Association.

The red, fruity-flavored tea helped lower blood pressure in people with elevated risks of cardiovascular or kidney disease, says a study presented at the AHA annual conference in Boston.

The study was conducted on 65 healthy men and women between the ages of 30 and 70 whose blood pressure levels placed them at increased risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke, said researcher Dr. Diane L. McKay of Tufts University.

Participants, who were not taking any blood pressure medications, were assigned to drink hibiscus tea or a placebo three times a day for six weeks.

At the end of that time, blood pressure levels dropped an average of 7.2 percent in the hibiscus tea drinkers as opposed to a 1.3 percent in the placebo group.

Some patients in the hibiscus group, claimed the study, had a 13.2 percent reduction in their blood pressure.

The patients were given three 8-ounce cups of hibiscus tea a day, brewed with one tea bag for six minutes. The placebo group was given artificial hibiscus with flavor and color.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a serious health condition that triples the risk of heart attack and is responsible for 60 percent of strokes, according to AHA statistics.

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and is defined as high if that number is 140 mm Hg or higher.
Participants in the study with blood pressure higher than 129 mm Hg had significantly greater benefits for systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure.

McKay said that even small blood pressure changes like those seen in the study offer promising results for patients over the long term. She cited a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association which found that a three point decline in systolic pressure reduced the risk of mortality by eight percent and coronary artery disease death by five percent.

Hibiscus is an herb commonly used in teas and has a fruity, tart taste and red color. It is composed of anthocyanins, flavones, flavonols and phenolic acids. These components have been known to reduce blood pressure in studies on animals.

The magnitude of the anti-hypertensive effect of the hibiscus tea was similar to blood-pressure medications, said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, moderator of the press conference. The tea as a nutraceutical is worthy of validation and further study, he said.

(By Sheilah Desrocher, and edited by Heather Kelley)