Hibiscus sabdariffa, a Treatment for Uncontrolled Hypertension. Pilot Comparative Intervention
Marwah Al-Anbaki, Anne-Laure Cavin, Renata Campos Nogueira, Jaafar Taslimi, Hayder Hasan Rajab Ali, Mohammed Najem, Mustafa Mahmood, Ibrahim Khaleel, Abdulqader Saad Mohammed, Hasan Ramadhan Hasan, Laurence Marcourt, Fabien Félix, Nicolas Low‐Ders, Emerson Ferreira Queiroz, Jean‐Luc Wolfender, Marie Watissée, Bertrand Graz
Abstract
In Iraq, in 2019, there were about 1.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP); medical treatments were often interrupted. The feasibility of using Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) decoction to curb hypertension was evaluated. A multicentric comparative pilot intervention for 121 participants with high blood pressure (BP) (≥140/90 mmHg) was conducted. Participants of the intervention group (with or without conventional medication) received HS decoction on a dose regimen starting from 10 grams per day. BP was measured five times over six weeks. The major active substances were chemically quantified. Results: After 6 weeks, 61.8% of participants from the intervention group (n = 76) reached the target BP < 140/90 mmHg, compared to 6.7% in the control group (n = 45). In the intervention group, a mean (±SD) reduction of 23.1 (±11.8) mmHg and 12.0 (±11.2) for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively, was observed, while in the control group the reduction was 4.4 (±10.2)/3.6 (±8.7). The chemical analysis of the starting dose indicated a content of 36 mg of total anthocyanins and 2.13 g of hibiscus acid. The study shows the feasibility of using HS decoction in IDP’s problematic framework, as hibiscus is a safe, local, affordable, and culturally accepted food product.