Hibiscus Flower Power
by jockques cliatt
In one study in rats, hibiscus extract increased the number of antioxidant enzymes and reduced the harmful effects of free radicals by up to 92% Another rat study had similar findings, showing that parts of the hibiscus plant, such as the leaves, possess potent antioxidant properties. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/hibiscus-tea-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2
The clinical study populations ranged from pre and mildly hypertensive to stage 1 or 2 hypertensive. Only one study chose to recruit people with the additional condition of type 2 diabetes. The study designs included comparing HS to black tea, blood pressure medication, or a placebo beverage. Hibiscus was generally prepared as a tea, but Herrera-Arellano and colleagues prepared it as a standardized aqueous extract. Dried calyxes of Hibiscus were used in the tea or extract in those studies (4 of 5) that specified which part of the plant was use. The amount of Hibiscus plant part extracted per serving varied from 1.25 g to 10 g with lower doses being administered up to 3 times per day and higher doses being administered only once. The duration of most of the studies was 4 weeks although one study only lasted 12 days and another was 6 weeks long
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3593772/