Indian Journal of Hill Farming

Indian Journal of Hill Farming 27(1):47-51 Available online at www.kiran.nic.in

Medicinal Uses of Roselle ( sabdariffa L.): A Mini Review

K. PURO*, R. SUNJUKTA, S. SAMIR, S. GHATAK, I. SHAKUNTALA, A. SEN

Received 8.6. 2014, Revised 28.6.2014, Accepted 30.6.2014

ABSTRACT

The use of herbal extracts and nutritional supplements either as alternative or complementary medicine for treatment of diseases is well documented in various cultures such as Ayurveda in India and traditional Chinese medicine system. Medicinal as natural antimicrobial agents are gaining popularity. Roselle plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa) Linne () has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic, mild , and treatment for cardiac and nerve diseases. Herein we discussed some of the recent studies on its various activities. Keywords: Antioxidant, Antihypertensive, Antimicrobial, Anticancerous

INTRODUCTION content (68.7%) was highest followed by crude fibre (14.6%) and ash content (12.2%) Roselle plant, with an attractive believed and others. The plant is also found to be rich in to be native to , is cultivated in , India, minerals especially potassium and magnesium. Malaysia and Taiwan. It is an annual or perennial (ascorbic acid, niacin and pyridoxine) or woody-based sub-shrub, growing to 2-2.5 were also present in appreciable amounts. Various m tall. The are deeply 3-5 lobed, 8-15 cm workers (Nnam and Onyeke 2003; Ojokoh 2006; long, arranged alternately on the stems. The Falade et al. 2005; Adanlawo and Ajibade 2006) are 8–10 cm in diameter, white to pale yellow with reported variable content suggesting that the type a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a of soil influences its ash and content stout fleshy calyx at the base, 1-2 cm wide, causing variations within the same species (Carvajal enlarging to 3-3.5 cm, fleshy and bright red as the et al. 2012). It has long been used in herbal to matures. It takes about six months to mature. treat hypertension, pyrexia and liver damage In some places, the plant is primarily cultivated for although the pharmaceutical components are poorly the production of bast fibre from the stem of the defined (Hou et al. 2005). Nutritional studies have plant. The fibre may be used as a substitute for indicated that low consumption of and in making burlap. The red calyces of the plant are vegetables is consistently related to an increased used as food colourings and dyes. Today, roselle is incidence of cancer (Choi and Mason, 2000) attracting the attention of food and beverage reflecting dietary habits. The component in fruits manufacturers and pharmaceutical concerns who and vegetables like and feel it may have exploitable possibilities as a natural may be responsible for the reduced risk of cancer food product for herbal medicine and as a colorant (Weisburger and Chung 2002; Mei et al. 2005; Lin to replace some synthetic dyes. et al. 1999; Wang et al. 2003; Gao et al. 2002; Briviba et al. 2001). Plants have the capacity of Nutritive value producing secondary metabolites like proteins, The nutritional analysis of roselle plant by steroids, alkaloids, etc (Sharaniah et al. 2013) that proximate method (Luvonga et al. 2010) found the will enhance its nutritive value. Animal Health Division, ICAR-RC for NEH Region, Umiam – 793103. Meghalaya *Corresponding author’s Email: [email protected]

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Antimicrobial properties inflammatory leucocyte infiltration, and necrosis Roselle is widely used for the treatment of induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) in rats. diseases. Olaleye (2007) used the aqueous- An antioxidative activity was also reported in methanolic extract of roselle to investigate its cancerous cell lines (Akim et al. 2011). In animal phytochemical constituents, antimicrobial activity models (McKay et al. 2011), extracts of its calyces and cytotoxicity, and reported that the extract have demonstrated hypocholesterolemic and contained cardiac glycosides, , saponins antihypertensive properties irrespective of age, and alkaloids. It exhibited antibacterial activities gender or dietary supplement used. The antioxidant against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus potential of three fractions of the ethanol crude stearothermophilus, Micrococcus luteus, Serratia extract (HS-C: chloroform-soluble fraction; HS-E: mascences, Clostridium sporogenes, Escherichia ethylacetate soluble fraction; HS-R: residual coli, Klebsiella, pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, fraction) obtained from the dried flowers were Pseudomonas fluorescence. The results support the evaluated by Tseng et al. (1997) for their capacity use of this plant in the treatment of diseases like to quench free radicals and inhibiting xanthine abscesses, bilious conditions, cancer and coughs oxidase (XO) activity. HS-E showed the greatest in traditional medicine, and also suggest the capacity of scavenging free radical, and HS-C possibility of isolating antibacterial and anticancer showed the strongest inhibitory effect on XO agents while the antimicrobial activity on activity. Furthermore, antioxidant bioactivities of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica and these crude extracts were investigated in rat primary Listeria monocytogenes isolates from food, hepatocytes. All fractions were found to inhibit veterinary, and clinical samples by Fullerton (2011) significantly the unscheduled DNA synthesis indicated that roselle extract was effective and (UDS). These results indicated that the dried flower suggest the application of extracts as potential extracts (HS-C and HS-E) protect rat hepatocytes antimicrobials in foods. The antibacterial effects from t-BHP-induced cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. of roselle calyx aqueous and ethanol extracts and The study on hepatoprotective and antioxidant protocatechuic acid against food spoilage bacteria effects on the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced Salmonella Typhimurium DT104, Escherichia coli hepatocyte damage in fish by Yin et al. (2011) O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus provided evidence of potential use as a medicine aureus and Bacillus cereus were examined by Chau for curing liver diseases in aquaculture as roselle et al. (2008) and shown the inhibitory activity in extract significantly elevated levels of lactate dose-dependent manner against test bacteria in dehydrogenase (LDH), glutamate oxalate ground beef and apple juice and suggested that it transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate might be potent agents as food additives to prevent transaminase (GPT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) contamination from these bacteria. and significantly reduced levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH- Antioxidant properties Px). Roselle - Hibiscus (HAs) which Anticancerous properties are a group of natural pigments existing in the dried calyx exhibited antioxidant activity and liver The antiproliferative activities of roselle juice protection. HA antioxidant bioactivity in rat primary were evaluated by Akim et al. (2011) using different hepatocytes and hepatotoxicity was studied by cell lines like ovarian (Caov-3), breast (MCF-7, Wang et al. (2000). The results demonstrated that MDA-MB-231) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cell HAs, at the concentrations of 0.10 and 0.20mg/ml, lines and found that it exhibited the strongest anti- significantly decreased the leakage of lactate proliferative potency towards the MCF-7 cancer dehydrogenase and the formation of cells. The effects on human cancer cells (HL-60) malondialdehyde and significantly lowered the studied by Chang et al. (2005) using roselle- serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers (alanine anthocyanins (HA) showed apoptosis of cells in a and aspartate aminotransferase) and reduced dose- and time-dependent manner. It also revealed oxidative liver damage. The histopathological increased phosphorylation in p38, c-Jun and evaluation of the liver revealed that roselle pigments cytochrome c release, and expression of tBid, Fas, reduced the incidence of liver lesions including and FasL genes indicating that it could be developed

48 June 2014 ⎜ Volume 27 ⎜ Issue 1 Indian Journal of Hill Farming as chemopreventive agents. However, Hou et al. in rats (Onyenekwe et al. 1999; Odigie et al. 2003; (2005) reported the apoptosis of leukemia cells Ajay et al. 2007), and findings support the popular induced by anthocyanin is through reactive oxygen belief that roselle extract contains antihypertensive species mediated mitochondrial pathways. constituents. The anthocyanins extract investigated Protocatechuic acid (PCA), a phenolic compound for its therapeutic efficacy, safety and tolerability isolated from the dried flower, was found to inhibit along with antihypertensive drug captopril the survival of human promyelocytic leukemia (HL- (Herrera-Arellano et al. 2004), lisinopril (Herrera- 60) in a concentration and time dependent manner Arellano et al. 2007) in humans found the results (Tseng et al. 1997), and apoptosis is induced via comparable and suggest the synergistic mechanism reduction of retinoblastoma phosphorylation and of diuretic and ACE inhibition results in exerting down regulation of Bcl-2 protein expression (Tseng hypotensive effects. et al. 2000). The study revealed that cells underwent Effect on domestic animal studies intranucleosomal DNA fragmentation and morphological changes characteristics of apoptosis Few studies in animals have been reported. while the action against gastric carcinoma cells by Roselle extract as acidifiers has been shown by inducing apoptosis is through JNK/MAPK Aphirakchatsakun et al. (2008) in post weaning pig signaling pathways (Lin et al. 2007). The with the ability to increase trypsin activity, methanolic extract of roselle on seven cancer lines digestibility and improve feed conversion ratio (Lin et al. 2005) implied the AGS cancer cells being (FCR). In poultry, the effect of roselle calyx in layer most susceptible in concentration-dependant form diets on egg production performance, egg quality affecting both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic and Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances routes. (TBARS) value in plasma and yolk was studied by Piyaphon et al. (2011) to check the lipid Effect on lipid metabolism peroxidation as a result of degradation of . The effect of roselle on lipid profile, creatinine Storage time of extract was found to be an important and serum electrolytes has been studied by Abbas factor to decrease egg quality and increase TBARS et al. (2011) in hypertensive patients and reported value in yolk. the upward trend of total cholesterol and high Future approach density lipid (HDL) which is significant since HDL- Cholesterol is a protective factor for coronary heart Among the properties reported to date, its effect diseases. Kirdpon (1994) evaluated the changes of on lipid metabolism, antihypertensive action and urine in normal patients after consuming roselle apoptosis are largely studied. Some studies on its juice in different concentrations and durations antimicrobial effects were also documented. which may help the treatment and prevention of Therefore, with many enriching chemical- renal stone disease, and reported a decrease of biological knowledge from animal and human creatinine, uric acid, citrate, tartrate, calcium, models using plant extracts, future studies with sodium, potassium and phosphate but not oxalate greater scientific robustness in terms of in urinary excretion. standardization of dose for its effectiveness, safety and tolerability will permit the formulation of safe, Antihypertensive effect effective therapeutic herbal formulations which can The consequence of hypertension is implicated be used as an acceptable source for curing many in the development of cerebrovascular diseases, health issues and restoring general health. cardiac ischemia as well as cardiac and renal failure, and is now considered a global health problem. The studies on the efficacy of aqueous extract in REFERENCES hypertensive human (Faraji et al. 1999) showed significant reduced pressure difference in both Abbas M, Shirin M, Patricia K, Mohammad GK (2011). The effect of Hibiscus Sabdariffa on lipid profile, creatinine systolic and diastolic compared to control group, and serum electrolytes: A randomized clinical trial. ISRN while Mckay et al. (2010) found the decrease in Gastroenterol 2011: 1-4 systolic pressure significant, the diastolic pressure Adanlawo IG, Ajibade VA (2006). Nutritive value of the two remained unchanged. Studies were also conducted varieties of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) calyces soaked with wood ash. Pak J Nutr 5: 555-557

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Ajay M, Chai HJ, Mustafa AM (2007). Mechanisms of the Lin H, Chen J, Kuo W, Wang C (2007). Chemopreventive anti-hypertensive effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. calyces. properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. on human gastric J Ethnopharmacol 109: 338-393 carcinoma cells through apoptosis induction and JNK/p38 Akim A, Lim CH, Asmah R, Zanainaul AZ (2011). Antioxidant MAPK signaling activation. Chemico-Biol Interact 165: and anti-proliferative activities of Roselle juice on Caov- 59-75 3, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and Hela cancer cell lines. Afri Lin H, Huang H, Huang C, Chen J, Wang C (2005). Hibiscus J Pharma Pharmacol 5(7): 957-965 poylphenol rich extract induces apoptosis in human gastric Aphirakchatsakun W, Kris A, Suwanna K (2007). The effect carcinoma cells via p53 phosphorylation and p38 MAPK/ of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn.) calyx as antioxidant FasL cascade pathway. Mol Carcinog 43: 86-99 and acidifier on growth performance in postweaning pigs. Lin JK, Liang YC, Lin-Shiau SY (1999). 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tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced hepatic toxicity in rats. Weisburger JH, Chung FL (2002). Mechanisms of chronic Food Chem Toxicol 38: 411-416 disease causation by nutritional factors and tobacco Wang S, DeGroff VL, Clinton SK (2003). Tomato and soy products and their prevention by tea polyphenols. Food polyphenols reduce insulin-like growth factor-I-stimulated Chem Toxicol 40: 1145-1154 rat prostate cancer cell proliferation and apoptotic Yin G, Cao I, Xu P, Jenny G, Nakao M (2011). Hepatoprotective resistance in vitro via inhibition of intracellular signaling and antioxidant effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract pathways involving tyrosine kinase. J Nutr 133: 2367-2376 against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatocyte damage in Cyprinus carpio. In vitro Cellular Develop Biol Animal 47: 10-15

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