The effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa (sour tea) compared to other herbal teas and antihypertension drugs on cardiometabolic risk factors: Result from a systematic review and meta-analysis

Hibiscus sabdariffa is a common ingredient in herbal tea blends. Several properties such as antihypertensive and antioxidant activities have been attributed to this plant. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the knowledge about the effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa (sour tea) compared to other herbal teas and antihypertensive drugs on cardiometabolic risk factors. PubMed, Web of Sciences (ISI), Embase, and Scopus (Elsevier) databases were searched to identify related articles published up to 12 December 2019. All clinical trials which investigated the effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa (sour tea) consumption on systolic blood pressure (SBS), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), HDL-C (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), TC (total cholesterol), TG (triglyceride), FBS (fasting blood sugar), BW (body weight) and BMI (body mass index) for more than one week were included. Twenty-two studies (24 effect sizes) were included in the analysis; weighted mean differences for each were estimated using random-effects models. The pooled data suggested that however Hibiscus sabdariffa consumption reduced the SBP levels (weighted mean difference [WMD]: −7.14, 95 % CI: −11.16, −3.12, p < 0.001), and DBP levels (WMD: −3.54, 95 % CI: −5.02, −2.06, p < 0.001), the changes in lipid profiles, FBS, BMI and BW were not significant. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicated that Hibiscus sabdariffa consumption could efficiently reduce SBP and DBP levels.