We call it Zobo locally but it is known as Hibiscus Sabdariffa or Roselle in most other English speaking countries. Zobo drink is a popular street-side juice usually sold in refill bottles. Zobo is a supplemental herb that is derived the plants calyces, which are the collection of sepals separating the blooming flower from the stem. It is usually soaked into water and drank for its medicinal and refreshing benefits.
There are lots of medicinal benefits associated with Hibiscus as it contains a lot of anti-oxidizing agents and vitamins. According to Dr. Kurtis Frank, although it has a variety of claims medicinally, it appears to have evidence to support its role in reducing blood pressures in persons with elevated blood pressure.
Zobo can be taken hot or cold and as iced drink, it is a remedy for quenching thirst effectively. It is often recommended as an alternative to artificially prepared commercial sport drinks that are marketed to physically active individuals. This cooling and thirst quenching benefit is probably because of the diuretic properties of Zobo, which helps in the excretion of excess fluid from the body.
The plant also has antihypertensive properties. According to esgreen.com, this was noted in a study of 70 people were a half of the people drank Zobo tea daily and the other half took 25 mg of antihypertensive medicine twice daily. After a month, 79 per cent of the tea drinkers experienced a ten point reduction in blood pressure, 84 per cent of the ones that took the pharmaceutical drug also experienced the same reduction in blood pressure.
Some tea drinkers use Zobo drink as a weight reduction therapy. Our body produces an enzyme known as amylase which functions to breakdown complex sugar and starch molecules in food. When a person consumes too much carbohydrate-rich food, that individual is most likely going to gain weight. According to health experts, Zobo contains a substance that prevents the production of amylase. A person regularly taking Zobo drink can thus prevent too much absorption of carbohydrate and consequently not gain excess weight.
According to the book “Healing Herbal Teas,” fresh Hibiscus flowers contain around 6.7 mg of ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C, which is one the more essential nutrients needed by the body. Along with this, Hibiscus is known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Thus, Hibiscus is often used as a supplement to help treat coughs and cold. Because of its cooling effect, it is especially effective in reducing the discomfort of fever that may accompany such ailments.
It is important to note, however, that higher doses of Hibiscus do exert some toxic effect, although none of these have been reported in humans, that being said, they have not been disproven either. It would be better to avoid taking too much Hibiscus, especially since many Hibiscus benefits are not dose-dependent.
How to Prepare Zobo Drink
Ingredients: 2 cups of dried Zobo leaves, 5 cups of water, ½ bunch of pineapple, 2 tbs of vanilla extract, ¼ cup of sugar, 1 ½ tbs of ginger.
Procedure: Lightly rinse the Zobo leaves in cold water. Wash the pineapple and peel the skin, slice and set it aside. Add the water in a pot and bring to a boiling point. As soon as sit starts boiling, add the rinsed flowers, pineapple and ginger. Cover and boil for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow cooling for 5 minutes. Using a large bowl, sieve the mixture to get the juice. Pour the drained mixture into a pitcher, add additional water if desired and vanilla extract. Taste to gauge the level of sweetness before adding sugar. Stir and refrigerate, best served chilled
