Hibiscus Tea: Food of the Goddess & Defender of Your Health

Hibiscus represents a genus of more than 200 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs that are highly prized for their ornamental flowers. However, several species of hibiscus are also revered for their medicinal properties. In fact, several recent studies have shown that drinking hibiscus tea may help to lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol, deter the oxidation of free radicals, and prevent kidney disease associated with diabetic nephropathy.

Of particular interest to researchers is Hibiscus sabdariffa, dubbed as the Rosella plant by natives of the “land down under.” This Old World favorite stems from Eurasia and Africa, where the leaf is brewed and sold at wayside street markets and the fruit is incorporated into a fragrant beer-soft drink combination known as Shandy. Setting culinary kudos aside, what’s really stirring a buzz in the scientific community is the health-giving compounds tucked away in each bud and leaf, namely anthocyanins and protocatechuic acid.

Anthocyanins are bioflavonoids that lend the flowers and fruits of plants their vivid color. They are also considered phytonutrients. In fact, they possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and play a role in inhibiting the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, the “taxi cabs” of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). Protocatechuic acid also provides antioxidant activity. Studies have shown that this substance induces apoptosis in leukemia cells, which means that the cancer cells are stimulated to self-destruct.

Paired together, these powerful agents really pack a one-two punch toward keeping you healthy. But, there are even more reasons that researchers are convinced that drinking hibiscus tea is a sweet idea.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that is associated with numerous health complications, such as heart disease, neuropathy (nerve damage), blindness, and kidney failure. One of the primary reasons for this is a biochemical process known as glycation, the same mechanism that causes food to brown in the oven. Glycation is triggered when glucose molecules bind to proteins, creating sugar-damaged proteins known as advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). Elevated levels of AGEs increase free radical levels and lower levels of nitric oxide, which leads to more damaged proteins and compromised arteries, nerves, and organs. These rogue sugar molecules also attach themselves to LDL molecules on their way back to the liver for disposal, which prevents them from binding to receptor sites. This molecular hijacking causes the liver to mistakenly conclude that there’s a shortage of cholesterol, so it produces more.

In March and April of 2009, researchers at two different universities in Taiwan set out to examine the impact of hibiscus on these devastating diabetes-related effects. They not only found that the botanical suppressed AGE activity, but also increased the function of glutathione, a type of amino acid necessary for healthy cellular metabolism and immune response. In addition, the researchers found that hibiscus offered protection to vascular smooth muscle cells from oxidative stress. Nigerian researchers at the Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan experienced similar findings in a 2007 study. In fact, to quote the abstract published in Fundamental Clinical Pharmacology, “…Hibiscus sabdariffa could be useful in preventing the development of atherosclerosis and possible related cardiovascular pathologies associated with diabetes.”

High Blood Pressure

In November of 2008, the results of a clinical trial that focused on the anti-hypertension effects of hibiscus were presented at the annual conference of the American Heart Association. The study, which was sponsored by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, involved 65 adults between the ages of 30 and 70 years with mild hypertension or at borderline risk for hypertension. After six weeks, the tea-tipping subjects experienced a decrease in systolic blood pressure by 7.2 points, compared to 1.3 points in the placebo group. The researchers also found that those with the highest systolic blood pressure achieved the most impressive results, with an average decrease in systolic blood pressure of 13.2 points and a reduction in diastolic blood pressure of 6.4 points.

Earlier studies have reported similar results. For example, a 1999 study completed by the Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services in Iran noted an 11.2% reduction in systolic blood pressure and 10.7% diastolic pressure after only 12 days of treatment with hibiscus tea.

High Cholesterol

As previously mentioned, oxidative stress and the excessive production of AGEs lowers nitric oxide levels. How is this related to cholesterol and its role in heart disease? Well, nitric oxide is nicknamed “endothelium-derived relaxing factor,” which basically means it is essential for healthy vascular function of specialized cells found in the inner lining of the arteries. In fact, nitric oxide is necessary to prevent atheriosclerosis, a condition characterized by the accumulation of lipoproteins and platelets that form arterial plaque. Hibiscus has been shown to prevent premature nitric oxide depletion by inhibiting harmful AGEs.

Oxidized LDL is also involved in the formation of arterial plaque. A study published in the journal Chemico-Biological Interactions on May 15, 2009 reported that hibiscus decreased oxidized LDL as well as regulating CD36 gene expression, which is responsible for encoding a specialized protein to bind with oxidized LDL and other substances that contribute to platelet aggregation, such as thrombospondin.

Drink Up!

Fortunately, you don’t have to read the soggy hibiscus tea leaves at the bottom of your cup to know that it overflows with good health. You don’t have to be a biochemist either. But it may help to remember the health benefits of hibiscus by committing to memory the ancient custom of presenting the flowers as an offering to Kali, the Tantric Goddess of time and change. According to Hindu belief, it was she who claimed victory in a war between the Gods and the demons of the self-awareness—fear, addiction, doubt, self-inflicted illness, etc. Perhaps by drawing on the attributes of hibiscus, the Mother Goddess was inspired to destroy the darkness that would keep her subjects from living in the light.

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References:

Huang CN, Chan KC, Lin WT, et al. Hibiscus sabdariffa inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration induced by high glucose--a mechanism involves connective tissue growth factor signals. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Apr 22;57(8):3073-9.
Lee WC, Wang CJ, Chen YH, et al. Polyphenol extracts from Hibiscus sabdariffa Linnaeus attenuate nephropathy in experimental type 1 diabetes. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Mar 25;57(6):2206-10.
Kao ES, Hsu JD, Wang CJ, et al. Polyphenols extracted from Hibiscus sabdariffa L. inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation by improving antioxidative conditions and regulating cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Feb;73(2):385-90. Epub 2009 Feb 7.
Kao ES, Tseng TH, Lee HJ, et al. Anthocyanin extracted from Hibiscus attenuate oxidized LDL-mediated foam cell formation involving regulation of CD36 gene. Chem Biol Interact. 2009 May 15;179(2-3):212-8.
Ochani PC, D'Mello P. Antioxidant and antihyperlipidemic activity of Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. leaves and calyces extracts in rats. Indian J Exp Biol. 2009 Apr;47(4):276-82.
Mozaffari-Khosravi H, Jalali-Khanabadi BA, Afkhami-Ardekani M, Fatehi F, Noori-Shadkam M. The effects of sour tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) on hypertension in patients with type II diabetes. J Hum Hypertens. 2009
American Heart Association Scientific Session 2008, New Orleans, Nov. 8-12, 2008.
Farombi EO, Ige OO. Hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects of ethanolic extract from dried calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Fundam Clin Pharmacol. 2007 Dec;21(6):601-9.

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