Hibiscus sabdariffa is also known as roselle, red sorrel, Jamaican sorrel, sour-sour and Florida cranberry.
Herb to Know: Heart-Healthy Hibiscus Sabdariffa
Known for its crimson beauty, this tropical native is gaining recognition as a go-to herb for heart health.
• Hibiscus sabdariffa
• Also known as roselle, red sorrel, Jamaican sorrel, sour-sour and Florida cranberry
• Hardy to Zone 10
Tropical paradises lush with colorful plant life are typically associated with hibiscus, a flower prized for its striking good looks. But did you know that this exotic plant’s utility extends far beyond its beauty? Hibiscus is a medicinal herb that has the potential to naturally lower blood pressure.
With about 200 species and more than 5,000 hybrids associated with the genus, hibiscus can be had in a rainbow of colors. One common hibiscus, Hibiscus sabdariffa, is most often grown in warm temperate regions for its vibrant bell-shaped flowers. It can reach up to 8 feet in height and features crimson stems, lobed leaves with red veins, pale yellow flowers and a large red calyx. The calyx (a whorl of sepals), is largely responsible for hibiscus’ spicy flavor.
Hibiscus Health Benefits
In the kitchen, hibiscus is delicious when tossed into fruit salads, used to garnish ice cream, thrown into tart and pie fillings, and blended into jams and jellies. This nutritious plant even makes up a popular side dish when served with ground peanuts in regions of Africa. When steeped into an infusion, it’s transformed into a tart-tasting tea that is loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C. This tea is often sipped to relieve coughs and treat colds; it is also highly regarded as an appetite suppressant, a diuretic, a hangover reliever and a circulation booster. However, its most valuable benefit may be in its role for cardiovascular health.
7 Health Benefits of Zobo Drink Will Shocking You
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Some of you who like to taste various traditional or local drinks from all around the world would probably know or be familiar with what called Zobo drink. You can find it at any international restaurant, Nigerian restaurant or even at the house of your colleagues who like to have cooking experiment of any traditional recipes. At general, consumers of Zobo drink would firstly impress that it is tasty and refreshing and you may do so. However, those are not the things that make it special because to make Zobo drink, anyone needs specific natural essence which is originally from West Africa. Apart of it, Zobo drink also offers various health benefits which could not be ignored and will be sorry to missed. You would not just get the better healthy by consuming Zobo drink regularly, but also cure certain illnesses you may suffer.
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Anyway, before explaining about its health benefits, it would be better for you to know other information about Zobo drink as listed below;
Naming and Origin
Zobo DrinkZobo drink is the original name from Nigeria, West Africa. It changes its name in different countries, as Zobo drink is enjoyably consumed and drunk in various places all around the world. At Carribean, people call it Sorrel, while in Sudan, it is called Karkade. Mexicon people also like to consume this drink and call it Aguas Fercas. However at general, as you mention Zobo drink, people would understand that what you mean is that one, one of most popular local and traditional drinks in the world coming from Nigeria. The major producer of this drink is from Yoruba, in which its people are greatly creative in cooking ideas of Zobo as they make it soup, jam, tea and others.
The basic essence of this drink is (dry) Roselle leaves or popularly known also as Hibiscus Sabdariffa leaves coming from a species of Hibiscus plant, original and native of West Africa. This shows that you can mix various secondary—natural—essences to your Zobo recipe, but the existence of the leaf is a must. Uniquely, it is also known that no matter what secondary essences you mix into your Zobo drink, the drink would still be tasty, thick, colorful and pleasant. People believe that the Hibiscus leaf has its own certain strength so its taste would be well-kept and strongly tasted although it is mixed with other essences.
Availability
If you’d like, you can make home-made Zobo drink by yourself. You can simply find the ingredient as well as recipe at some online or offline sources. It would be better for you to make it at home especially if you have any favorite natural essences or flavors such as ginger, garlic, pineapple and so on and so forth. Those three materials are generally used as the combination in making Zobo drink, certainly with water. Other than those, you can also use honey, orange, lemon, lime, strawberry etc as you like. In the sense of flavor, you can choose either organic/actual or flavor based on your choice of appetite. Some say that using actual fruit would make the drink tastes soar.
However, if you are not a type of patient person who would like to be creatively slice and make Zobo drink by yourself or at home, some ready-to-drink products are available in the powder. You can buy it then mix it with hot or cold water as you want then enjoyably drink it at your quality time.
Health Benefits
Because the Roselle leaf has already had sweet natural taste, most of Zobo drink lovers do not put sugar in their drink and so do the restaurants. A few of them still use low-cholesterol sugar for some reason, particularly because they like sugar so much. This one factor is what makes Zobo special because it offers natural sweet taste which is certainly safe and not endangering health. Fortunately, health benefits of Zobo drink is not that one and even a sort of immeasurable because if gives nothing but natural touch, organic essence and fresh nutrients without any contamination.
Anyway you should know as well about the good nutrients that Zobo drink has. This applies to the Roselle leaf only and this shows that the benefit can vary and increase when you put other essences to your Zobo drink in addition to the main essence. Some of those nutrients are
Water soluble antioxidant
Huge amounts of vitamin C
Organic acids including citric acid, tartaric acid and maleic acid
Acidic polysaccharides and flavonoid glycosides as like delphinine and cyanidin.
Anti-hypertensive properties
Anti-bacterial propertis
Enzyme inhibitor
High level of antioxidant
Those nutrients and good essence contained at Zobo drink, particularly at Roselle leaf, work well to prevent and or cure some illnesses below;
a. High Blood Pressure, Constipation, Diabetes and Constipation
According to a research conducted by United States Department of Agriculture, Zobo drink is significantly effective for curing some disease and health disturbances ranging from high blood pressure or hypertension, diabetes and constipation. Particularly to the high blood pressure case, Zobo drink is effectively useful as it can lower the blood stream by ‘using’ its enzyme inhibitor which is able to block the production of amlysea. Amlysea itself is an enzyme which can break down complex starches and sugar.
This closely relates to natural essences contained at Zobo drink or its main basic leaf which is naturally sweet and rich of good nutrients including anti-hypertensive properties. Automatically, those all essences could work together to control sugar level at the blood stream so that body metabolism as well as digestion system run well and properly.
b. Lost of Appetite
In addition the sense of mood, lost of appetite also closely relates to digestive system. Zobo drink offers various nutrients needed and nutritionally necessary ranging from iron, caffeine-free, niacin, carotene to calcium so the consumers would get his/her appetite back as the digestive system returns normal. Those nutrients work hand by hand to overcome any bacteria and worm in digestive system supported by anti-bacterial properties which is also found at Zobo drink.
c. Fever, Cold and Infection
The richness of vitamin C in Zobo drink is naturally effective for curing as well as preventing fever, cold and infection. This was stated by Abimbola Ajayi, a nutritionist and director of Family Health and Nutrition.
d. Kidney Disease
People with kidney disease are advised to consume Zobo drink as it contains 15 to 30 percent of organic acid as mentioned above. The mechanism is all about the more ability of kidney to filter out some waste products such as the uric and oxalic acid. Those two wastes can form a sort of stone at the kidney and when it gets bigger, it would be excessively heavy.
However, it is advisable for them not put sugar in the liquid so that the natural essences of Zobo could well-preserved and not contaminated with other non-natural essences such as sugar as we find at regular market. A nutritionist say that the main advantage of local and original drink is because it is made through fermentation process producing microorganism that the good nutrients which already exist would increase more and more.
e. Cancer
Zobo drink could prevent cancer as it is rich with anti-oxidant essences. Consuming any food or raw materials rich with anti-oxidant would significantly strengthen the immune system especially in fighting free radical. As a consequence, body would be well-kept from various diseases, including cancer which regularly occurs as an impact of free-radical contamination.
Harmfulness
Beyond all of its good nutrients and function, it is not advisable for pregnant woman to drink Zobo drink as it can stimulate blood stream and make the menstruation comes then lead to the abortion. Breastfeeing woman is also suggested not to drink it as it can endanger the mother and her baby. Regular consumers should also not drink Zobo too much as continual consumption can give bad impact to their kidney (s).
Recent studies show that hibiscus tea can naturally lower blood pressure as effectively as some standard hypertension drugs. This isn’t brand-new information, as hibiscus has been used to treat high blood pressure in both African and Asian traditional medicine. In a clinical trial performed in 2004 and published in the journal Phytomedicine, hibiscus tea lowered the blood pressure of people with hypertension. In fact, it was as effective as the popular prescription medication captopril.
Similarly, in a study presented to the American Heart Association in 2008, researchers found that drinking three cups of hibiscus tea a day lowered blood pressure by as much as 13.2 percent in pre- and mildly hypertensive adults. Researchers have a few possible explanations for this. Hibiscus is a natural diuretic, it opens the arteries, and it may act as a natural angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, meaning that it slows the release of hormones that constrict blood vessels.
While more research is needed, many experts believe that incorporating hibiscus tea into a daily diet will prove beneficial for hypertensive patients.
Raising a Roselle Plant
Most hibiscus species thrive in subtropical and tropical regions all over the world. The plant flourishes in rich, moist soil and full sun. With these balmy growing conditions in mind, it’s not surprising that Hawaii claims the endangered yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei), also called “pua ma’o hau hele,” as its state flower. Gardeners in Florida, California, Louisiana and Kentucky grow hibiscuses commercially, but it’s possible to grow the plant as a warm-weather annual as far north as New Jersey in the United States.
In temperate climates, plant hibiscus seeds in a pot at the same time as you would tomatoes. Wait until the seedlings are 3 to 4 inches high, then move them to a sunny spot outside in soil that is high in organic matter. Make sure the plants are 3 feet apart in rows that are 5 feet apart. Let the plants grow, weeding and watering them evenly, until they are about 2 feet high. Mulch to prevent weeds from growing during the rest of the season.
Summary of Hibiscus sabdariffa
Primary Information, Benefits, Effects, and Important Facts
Hibiscus Sabdariffa (Roselle) is a supplemental herb that is derived from the plant’s calyces, which are the collection of sepals separating the blooming flower from the stem. The calyces have traditionally been steeped into tea where the anthocyanins (red-blue pigmentation) is steeped into the water and drank for medicinal purposes.
Although it has a variety of claims medicinally, it appears to have evidence to support its role in reducing blood pressure in persons with elevated blood pressure. It may be this through ACE inhibitory potential (although this is admittedly weak) or benefitting the endothelium via nitric oxide related mechanisms (appears to be in better accordance with the amount of anthocyanins that reach the blood). Reductions in both diastolic and systolic blood pressure have been noted, and for the most part appear to be reliable in presence although not so much in magnitude of benefit (ie. blood pressure is reliably reduced, but the degree of reduction seems to vary).
In regards to diabetes and blood glucose control, Roselle appears to have limited evidence to support these claims but the evidence is so far in support. Mechanisms are not known, and the remarkable potency in animal studies seems to be markedly less in the limited human interventions looking at it. Roselle does appear to weakly inhibit carbohydrate absorption enzymes, yet is synergistic with Morus Alba (White Mulberry) in doing so; a tea made of White Mulberries and Roselle, although currently not supported in vivo, is possibly an effective carbohydrate absorption inhibitory tea.
The interactions of Roselle and weight loss are not too clear-cut, and it seems to be highly intertwined with studies on Roselle toxicity; Roselle is known to be toxic in higher doses, and weight loss more often than not precedes chronic toxicity. For studies that note weight loss without toxicity, it seems to be related to reduced food intake in rats and mice rather than direct fat burning effects.
The appetite suppressing effects seem to be fairly reliable in rats, but caution should be taken in applying these effects to humans. Aside from not being reported as a side-effect in any human study, the bioactive known as Hibiscus Acid is similarly structured to (-)-Hydroxycitric acid from Garcinia Cambogia which is known to reduce appetite in rats reliably but not humans.
Low doses of Roselle tea or supplements appear to be effective in reducing blood pressure, and may be anti-diabetic. It is unlikely that Roselle can cause weight loss independent of a reduction of appetite
The toxicity itself seems to occur in mice and rats in a similar idea as the blood pressure reducing effects in humans, as in they occur reliably although the dose required to induce toxicity and what exactly occurs seems to vary from one study to another. This may be related to the exact molecules mediating toxicity not being known right now. For the majority of toxic effects, the lowest they have occurred is 200mg/kg in rats (2.2g dried calyx for a 150lb human). Human studies have used this dose or above with no apparent side effects though. The toxicity of these doses of Roselle need to be evaluated more.
One concern that does exist is testicular toxicity, which occurs fairly reliably at 200mg/kg or above in animals but has not been investigated in humans. Roselle appears to be anti-fertility in men, inducing abnormal sperm morphology. In females, there was a series of studies suggesting Roselle could cause abnormal (higher) birth weights in offspring with a delay of pubertal onset; for the most part these are attributed to the appetite suppressing effect causing maternal malnutrition, with no per se mechanisms harming the pup (via lactation) currently known.
Although these toxic effects can possibly be avoided by adhering to proper dosing, the amount of safety information in humans is not as expansive as would be desired; the therapeutic threshold (degree of ‘safety buffer’ between the active dose and toxic dose) is also lower than desirable, so possible toxic effects with overdosing Roselle is probably more relevant than other supplements.
Higher doses of Roselle do exert toxic effects, although none of these toxic effects have been reported in humans (that being said, they have not conclusively been disproven either). It would be prudent to avoid taking too much Roselle, especially since many benefits of Roselle (elaborating on in complete summary) are not dose-dependent above the lowest observable toxic dose of 2.2g/150lb human
