Regular Consumption of Sour Tea (Roselle) Improves Fasting Blood Glucose and Lipid Profile in Diabetes

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate and characterize the effects of long-term ingestion of Roselle on the fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood triglycerids (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Two study groups of fifty subjects each (n = 50) having an average age of 50+- 5 year were investigated. One group included normal control subjects recruited from the general population; 20% were males and 80% were females. The second study group had patients who are known cases of diabetes mellitus with 30% males and 70% females. All subjects had never drunk Roselle and stopped drinking tea. The study lasted for a total of 8 weeks. FBG, TG, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C were all measured before starting the study. The subjects were then instructed to drink 4 standard cups (250 ml each) of Roselle per day for 4 consecutive weeks. FBG, TG, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C were measured in the morning at the end of each seven-day intervention. Roselle treatment was then stopped for 4 weeks and all the above-mentioned biochemical parameters were rechecked at the end of this non-treatment period. Results: We report for the first time that regular ingestion of 4 standard cups (250 ml each) of Roselle per day for 4 weeks results in significant reductions in the FBG from its baseline values by 19.6% and 40.7%; TG by 44.9% and 38.3%; TC by 21.2% and 17.3%; LDL-C by 43.9% and 45.5% by the end of the 4th week of treatment in the control and diabetic groups respectively. Conversely, the HDL-C was significantly elevated from its baseline values by 40.8% and 59.7% after the 4th week of treatment in the control and diabetic groups respectively. When Roselle treatment was stopped for 4 weeks the FBG, TG, TC, and LDL-C in the two study groups returned to values indistinguishable from their baseline values. Similarly, on cessation of Roselle treatment for 4 weeks HDL-C returned to values comparable with its baseline values in the control groups but it remained significantly higher than its baseline values in the diabetic group. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that regular ingestion of Roselle has cardiovascular protective effects as evidenced by the remarkable reductions in FBG, TG, TC, and LDL-C and elevations in HDL-C induced by Roselle treatment in the diabetic patients and control subjects as well.