Mohammad Hasan Entezari - Associate Professor, Food Security and Nutrition Research Center, Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Jahangir Karimian - Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, School of Management and Medical Information, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Mohammad Reza Maracy - Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Amir Hadi - Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan , Iran

Background and Objective: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a set of metabolic disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels. Green tea and sour tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) have attracted significant attention recently, due to their high popularity, nutrient profile and therapeutic effects. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of green tea and sour tea supplementation on blood pressure and lipid profile in healthy male adults.Materials and Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 54 healthy male adults. The participants were randomly assigned to two intervention groups receiving 450 mg green tea or sour tea and one placebo group which consumed 450 mg placebo (maltodextrin) for 6 weeks. Blood pressure, lipid profile, dietary intake and physical activity were measured pre and post-intervention and compared.Findings: After 6 weeks of intervention, sour tea supplementation led to a significant decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared with the placebo group. However, we faild to fined any significant difference in SBP between green tea and control groups. Also, no significant changes were observed in DBP and lipid profile between three groups. In comparison with the baseline, there was a significant increase in the mean level of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in green tea and sour tea groups. Also, the interventions resulted in significant decrease in the mean levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the sour tea group in compared with the pre-intervention value.Conclusion: On the basis of our findings, sour tea supplementation led to decrease SBP in healthy men compared with the placebo, but there was no significant difference between their effects on DBP and lipid profile.

Green tea; Hibiscus sabdariffa L.; Lipid profile; Blood pressure; Adults