Study: Drinking Hibiscus Tea Lowers Blood Pressure

NEW ORLEANS—Drinking hibiscus tea lowered blood pressure in a group of pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults, according to a report presented Jan. 8 by nutrition scientist Diane McKay at the American Heart Association's annual conference in New Orleans.

For six weeks, about half the study group was randomly selected to drink three cups of hibiscus tea daily; the others drank a placebo beverage containing artificial hibiscus flavoring and color. Findings show that volunteers who drank hibiscus tea had a 7.2 point drop in their systolic blood pressure, compared to a 1.3 point drop in the volunteers who drank the placebo beverage.

The study was funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).