Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 8(1), 2009, pp.

77-83 Review Paper

Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn.–An overview

N Mahadevan*, Shivali and Pradeep Kamboj
Department of Pharmacognosy
ISF College of Pharmacy
Moga-142001, Punjab, India
*Correspondent author, E-mail: nnmahadevan@rediffmail.com
Phone: 09417169055 (Mob)
Received 10 September 2007; Accepted 24 December 2008

Abstract 8-12 slim, pointed bracts (or bracteole)

Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. is an annual herbaceous shrub, cultivated for its flowers around the base, they begins to enlarge at
although leaves and seeds have also been used in traditional medicine. The calyces of the plant are the end of the day, 3.2-5.7cm long and
used as a refrigerant in the form of tea, to make jellies and jams. The plant is reported to contain fully enclose the fruit. The fruit is a velvety
proteins, fats, carbohydrates, flavonoids, acids, minerals and vitamins. The plant has been reported
to have antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, antihyperlipidemic, anticancer and antioxidant
capsule, 1.25-2cm long, which is green
properties. The present paper is an overview on its phytochemical and pharmacological properties when immature, 5-valved, with each valve
reported in the literature. containing 3-4 seeds. The capsule turns
Keywords: Hibiscus sabdariffa, Lal-ambari, Patwa, Red sorrel, Herbal tea, Herbal brown and splits open when mature and
medicine. dry. Seeds are kidney-shaped, light-brown,
IPC code; Int. cl.8— A61K 36/00, A61P 3/06, A61P 9/12, A61P 39/06 3-5mm long and covered with minute,
stout and stellate hairs3.
Introduction languages it is called as Gongura, Lal- The species H. sabdariffa
Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. is ambari, Patwa (Hindi), Lal-mista, comprises a large number of cultivated
a shrub belonging to the family— Chukar (Bengali), Lal-ambadi types which, on the basis of their growth
Malvaceae. It is thought of native to Asia (Marathi), Yerra gogu (Telugu), habit or end use, are classified broadly
(India to Malaysia) or Tropical Africa. The Pulichchai kerai (Tamil), Pulachakiri, under two varieties, H. sabdariffa var.
plant is widely grown in tropics like Pundibija (Kannada), Polechi, sabdariffa and H. sabdariffa var.
Caribbean, Central America, India, Africa, Pulichchai (Malayalam) and Chukiar altissima Wester. Former is generally
Brazil, Australia, Hawaii, Florida and (Assam)1. bushy and pigmented and cultivated for
Philippines as a home garden crop. In The plant is about 3.5m tall and the edible calyces; the latter includes tall-
Sudan, it is a major crop of export has a deep penetrating taproot. It has a growing, unbranched types bearing
especially in western part where it smooth or nearly smooth, cylindrical, inedible calyces and mainly cultivated for
occupies second place area wise after pearl typically dark green to red stems. Leaves the stem fibre, roselle1. Sorrel is cultivated
millet followed by Sesamum1-2. are alternate, 7.5-12.5cm long, green with in various parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh,
In addition to Roselle, in English- reddish veins and long or short petioles. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Madhya
speaking regions it is called as Rozelle, Leaves of young seedlings and upper leaves Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and West
Sorrel, Red sorrel, Jamaica sorrel, Indian of older plants are simple; lower leaves Bengal during April to November. The
sorrel, Guinea sorrel, Sour-sour, are deeply 3 to 5 or even 7-lobed and the propagation is done by seeds or by rooting
Queensland jelly plant, Jelly okra, Lemon margins are toothed. Flowers, borne singly shoot cuttings. The edible fleshy calyces
bush and Florida cranberry. In North Africa in the leaf axils are up to 12.5cm wide, are collected after 15-20 days of flowering.
and the Near East, Roselle is called yellow or buff with a rose or maroon eye Rest of the crop is left in the field until
karkade or carcadé and it is known by and turn pink as they wither at the end of seeds are ready for threshing. The calyces
these names in the pharmaceutical and the day. The typically red calyx, consist of can be dried and stored in air-tight
food-flavoring trades in Europe3. In Indian 5 large sepals with a collar (epicalyx) of containers1.

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H. sabdariffa is a hardy
herbaceous shrub, grows well in most soils
that are well drained. The flowers are
hermaphrodite and are pollinated by
insects4. It requires a monthly rainfall
ranging from 130 to 260 mm in the first
3 to 4 months of growth. Rain and high Dried calyces
humidity during harvest and drying can demulcent, digestive, diuretic, emollient,
downgrade the quality of calyces and purgative, refrigerant, sedative, stomachic
reduce the yield 5 . Roselle is usually and tonic6-9. On the basis of traditional
propagated by seed but grows readily from uses several phytochemical and
cuttings. The latter method results in pharmacological studies on the whole
shorter plants preferred in India for plant, calyces and seeds have been
interplanting with tree crops but the yield conducted by researchers. An overview of
of calyces is relatively low3. The plants may these reports are presented here to
be cut off 6 weeks after transplanting, facilitate further investigations and
leaving only 7.5-10cm of stem in the field. preparation of useful herbal drugs.
A second cutting is made 4 weeks later
and a third after another 4 weeks. Then Phytochemistry Freshly harvested calyces
plants are thinned out and the remaining The leaf is reported to contain
plants left to grow and develop fruit as a protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, ash, presence of crude protein and minerals
second product. The fruits are harvested calcium, phosphorus, iron, thiamine, such as iron, phosphorus, calcium,
when full-grown. The fruits of roselle β-carotene, riboflavin, niacin and manganese, aluminium, magnesium,
ripen progressively from the lowest to the ascorbic acid10-16. The flower yields a sodium and potassium. Mucilage, calcium
highest. Harvesting of seeds takes place yellow dye; the major pigment identified citrate, ascorbic acid, gossypetin and
when the lower and middle tiers of the is daphniphylline. The plant contains hibiscin chlorideare also present in
last of the fruits are allowed to mature, at flavonoids such as hibiscitrin and calyces1.
this time the plants are cut down, stacked hibiscetin1 and dried calyces contain the The seeds contain protein
for a few days, then threshed between flavonoids gossypetine, hibiscetine and (18.8-22.3%), fat (19.1-22.8%) and
canvas sheets. The common pests of the sabdaretine. It also contains alkaloids, dietary fibre (39.5-42.6%) content were
plant are root-knot nematode and beetles β-sitosterol, anthocyanin, citric acid, found to be high. The seeds were found
such as Nisotra breweri, Lagris cyanea cyanidin-3-rutinose, delphinidin, to be a good source of minerals like
and Rhyparida discopunctulata3. galactose, pectin, protocatechuic acid, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, lysine
In Egypt and Sudan, the deep red quercetin, stearic acid and wax17. Small and tryptophan contents. Seed oil is rich
tea from the calyces, called Karkade, is amounts of delphinidin 3-monoglucoside, in unsaturated fatty acids (70%), of which
popular as a refrigerant2. It is commonly cyanidin 3-monoglucoside (chrysanthenin) linoleic acid constituted 44%. Seeds
used to make jellies, jams and beverages. and delphinidin are also present3. Three contain nitrogen, fatty oil, cellulose,
In Ayurvedic literature of India, different water soluble polysaccharides have been pentosans and starch19. Steroids and
parts of this plant have been recommended isolated from flower buds; neutral tocopherols have been reported in the seed
for various ailments like hypertension, polysaccarides composed of arabinans and oil 19-21 . Kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside,
pyrexia and liver disorders. It is arabinogalactans18. kaempferol-3-O-glucopyranoside,
traditionally used as antiseptic, The calyces are rich in acid and quercetin, 3-O-rutinoside, citrusin C, 2,3-
aphrodisiac, astringent, cholagogue, pectin. Analysis of calyces has shown the dihydro-2-(4’-hydroxy-3’-methoxyphenyl)-
78 Natural Product Radiance
 Review Paper

Table 1: Physicochemical constituents of the fresh calyces and 3-β-D-glucopyranosylmethyl-7-hydroxy-5-

leaves of H. sabdariffa benzofuranpropanol, corchoionoside C
and trans-carveol-6-O-β-glucopyranoside
Constituents Calyces (fresh) Leaves (fresh) were isolated from 70% aqueous ethanol
Moisture 9.2g 86.2 %
extract of leaves22. The physicochemical
Protein 1.145g 1.7-3.2 % analysis of the fresh calyces and leaves are
Fat 2.61g 1.1 % given in Table 1 and phytochemicals
Fibre 12.0g 10 % present in the various parts of the plant
Ash 6.90g 1% are presented in Table 2.
Calcium 12.63mg 0.18 %
Phosphorus 273.2mg 0.04 %
Iron 8.98mg 0.0054 % Pharmacology
Carotene 0.029mg — Antihypertensive
Thiamine 0.117mg — Aqueous extract of petals
Riboflavin 0.277mg —
Niacin 3.765mg —
exhibited antihypertensive and
Ascorbic Acid 6.7mg — cardioprotective effects in rats23. Infusion
is also found to lower both systolic and
g and mg/100g diastolic pressure significantly in
Table 2: Phytochemicals of H. sabdariffa spontaneously hypertensive and
normotensive rats24.
Part of the plant Chemical constituents Tea of calyces showed 11.2%
reduction in the systolic blood pressure
Flower Carbohydrates, arabinans, mannose, sucrose, thiamin, xylose, mucilage, niacin, pectin, and 10.7% decrease in diastolic pressure25.
proteins, fat, arabinogalactans, rhamnogalacturans, riboflavin, β-carotene, Effectiveness and tolerability of a
phytosterols, citric acid, ascorbic acid, fruit acids, maleic acid, malic acid,
standardized extract was studied in
hibiscic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, (+)-allooxycitronic acid-lactone,
allohydroxycitric-acid, glycolic acid, utalonic acid, protocatechuic acid, patients with mild to moderate
cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-sambubioside, cyanidin-3-xyloglucoside, hypertension which revealed a reduction
delphinidin, delphinidin-3-glucoside, delphinidin-3-sambubioside, in systolic and diastolic blood pressure
delphinidin-3-xyloglucoside, delphinin, gossypetin, gossypetin-3-glucoside, by more than 10 per cent26.
hibiscetin, hibiscin, hibiscitrin, sabdaretin, sabdaritrin, fibre (crude), resin,
The aqueous extracts of the calyx
fibre (dietery), minerals and ash.
showed a dose-dependent decrease in
Seed Starch, cholesterol, cellulose, carbohydrates, campesterol, β-sitosterol,
mean arterial pressure of the rats27. The
ergosterol, propionic acid, pentosans, pelargonic acid, palmitoleic acid,
palmitic acid, oleic acid, myristic acid, methanol, malvalic acid, linoleic acid, extract has a vasodilator effect in the
sterculic acid, caprylic acid, formic acid, stearic acid, cis-12,13-epoxy-cis-9- isolated aortic rings of hypertensive rats.
octadecenoic acid, isopropyl alcohol, isoamyl alcohol, ethanol, 3-methyl-1- These effects are probably mediated
butanol, fibre and minerals. through the endothelium-derived nitric
Leaf α-Terpinyl acetate, anisaldehyde, β-carotene, β-sitosterol, β-D-galactoside, oxide-cGMP-relaxant pathway and
β-sitosteryl benzoate, niacin, fat, isoamyl alcohol, iso-propyl alcohol, methanol, inhibition of calcium influx into vascular
3-methyl-1-butanol, benzyl alcohol, ethanol, malic acid, fibre and ash.
smooth muscle cells28. Daily consumption
Fruit α-Terpinyl acetate, pectin, anisaldehyde, ascorbic acid, calcium oxalate, of tea lowers blood pressure in pre and
caprylic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, ethanol, formic acid, pelargonic acid,
mildly hypertensive adults and may prove
propionic acid, isopropyl alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, 3-methyl-1-
butanol, benzaldehyde and minerals. an effective component of the
dietary changes recommended for people
Root Tartaric acid and saponin.
at risk of developing hypertension29. A

Vol 8(1) January-February 2009 79

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standardized extract has shown effective oxidation and anti-hyperlipidemia in COX-1 enzyme inhibition than COX-2
blood pressure lowering activity in fructose and cholesterol-fed rats was inhibition45.
hypertensive humans. A recent double demonstrated38. It revealed that the extract
blind, reference-controlled trial reduced the level of LDL and the ratio of Anticancer
demonstrated significant reduction in LDL-cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol. Anthocyanins can cause cancer
blood pressure in the hibiscus group when Consumption of dried calyx ethanol cell apoptosis, especially in HL-60 cells46.
compared with lisinopril30. extract reduces lipid profile in rats 39. Anti-oxidative activity of anthocyanins was
Hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant evaluated by their effects on LDL oxidation
Hepatoprotective effects of aqueous extracts in in cell free system and anti-apoptotic
Protective effects of dried flower hypercholesterolemic rats is also abilities in RAW264.7 cells47. The study
extracts against oxidative stress in rat reported 40 . Antioxidant effects of the showed that anthocyanins of this plant
primary hepatocytes were demonstrated31. aqueous extracts of dried calyx using rat may be used to inhibit LDL oxidation and
Protocatechuic acid, a simple low density lipoprotein was investigated oxLDL-mediated macrophage apoptosis,
phenolic compound isolated from and the study demonstrated protective serving as a chemopreventive agent.
H. sabdariffa showed protective effects effect of roselle on LDL oxidation 41. Inhibitory effect of protocatechuic acid on
against cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of Biochemical dynamics and tumour promotion in mouse skin
hepatocytes induced by t-BHP. One of hypocholesterolemic action of the plant demonstrated that protocatechuic acid
mechanisms may be associated with its demonstrated that its administration possesses potential as a cancer
property of scavenging free radicals32. induces significant decrease in the activity chemopreventive agent against tumour
The extract of its petals protected of serum GOT, GPT, alkaline and acid promotion48.
rats against cadmium induced liver, phosphatase as well as total serum protein.
prostate and testis lipoperoxidation33. The These values nearly returned to the initial Other activities
extract offers hepatoprotection by levels after 9 weeks of administration42. Delphinidin 3-sambubioside, a
influencing the levels of lipid peroxidation Aqueous extracts of the petals of anthocyanin isolated from the dried
products and liver marker enzymes in red and green plant decreases total plasma calyces of H. sabdariffa can induce a
experimental hyperammonemia and this concentrations in rats indicating dose-dependent apoptosis in human
could be due to the free radical scavenging cardiovascular protective effects43. leukemia cells (HL-60) as characterized
property of natural antioxidants present by cell morphology, DNA fragmentation,
in the plant34. Antioxidant activity activation of caspase 3, 8 and 9, and
The protective effect of aqueous The antioxidant and free radical inactivation of poly(ADP) ribose
extract and anthocyanins on paracetamol-scavenging effects of two fractions of the polymerase 49. Ethanol and aqueous
induced hepatoxicity in rats has also ethanol extract (chloroform soluble extracts of its calyces possess antipyretic
been reported35. Aqueous-ethanol (1:1) fraction and ethyl acetate soluble fraction) activity in experimental animals50.
extract of the calyx showed a significant
obtained from its dried flowers were Ethanol extract of the plant
investigated44 and found that both the
decrease in the level of lipid peroxidation reduces the extent of cisplatin-induced
in carbon tetrachloride induced liver fractions scavenge hydrogen peroxide sperm abnormality and enhanced sperm
damage36. However, a study showed that (79-94%) at the dose of 500µg. Similarly, motility in rats51. Inhibition of intestinal
prolonged usage of aqueous-methanol extract
the extracts showed inhibitory (70-80%) motility by methanol extract in rats showed
of the calyces could cause liver injury37.
effects on superoxide anions radicals a significant dose dependent relaxant effect
(O2-) at a dose of 1000µg. The antioxidant on rat ileal strip comparable to the effect
Antihyperlipidemic activities of three varieties using liposome shown by nifedipin and papaverine as
Inhibitory effects of the plant system have also been reported. Methanol reference compounds52. Investigation of
extract on low-density lipoprotein and ethyl acetate extracts showed higher the antispasmodic potential revealed that

80 Natural Product Radiance

 Review Paper

aqueous extract of calyces inhibited the crude hydroalcoholic extract showed an for his cooperation and for providing the
tone of various isolated muscle appreciable enzyme-inhibiting activity required institutional facilities.
preparations53. towards the angiotensin I converting
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