Hibiscus Sabdariffa Linn
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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: [email protected] 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 capsule, 1.25-2cm long, which is green to have antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, antihyperlipidemic, anticancer and antioxidant 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. Vol 8(1) January-February 2009 77 Review Paper 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 yield5. 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 3 and Rhyparida discopunctulata . 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 2 popular as a refrigerant . 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 oil19-21. 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 extract of leaves22. The physicochemical Moisture 9.2g 86.2 % 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 — exhibited antihypertensive and Niacin 3.765mg — 23 Ascorbic Acid 6.7mg — cardioprotective effects in rats . 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.