Hibiscus tea is widely consumed for its tart flavour and deep red colour, but evidence that it directly causes weight loss remains limited.
The tea is made from Hibiscus sabdariffa, also known as roselle. The plant contains polyphenols, including anthocyanins and other compounds with antioxidant activity. Researchers have studied hibiscus extracts and tea for possible effects on body weight, blood pressure and other measures of metabolic health.
But studies in humans have produced mixed results, and much of the research on weight loss has involved concentrated extracts rather than the tea people commonly brew at home.
A 2014 randomized clinical trial involving 36 adults with a body mass index of at least 27 found that participants who consumed hibiscus extract for 12 weeks had reductions in body weight, BMI, body fat and waist-to-hip ratio compared with a control group.
The study used a concentrated extract, however, so its findings cannot automatically be applied to hibiscus tea.
More recent evidence provides a more cautious picture. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis examined six randomized controlled trials involving 339 participants. Four studies used hibiscus extract in capsules, while two used hibiscus tea.
Overall, the analysis found no clinically significant benefit for weight, BMI or waist circumference compared with control treatments. The researchers said additional, better-designed studies with longer follow-up are needed.
Research on appetite is also limited. One small randomized crossover study involving 21 healthy adults found that hibiscus tea was associated with lower reported hunger and greater feelings of fullness, but those effects were observed mainly among male participants. The study did not find a difference in total food or energy intake over the day.
Studies involving hibiscus combined with other plant extracts have reported reductions in body weight or body fat. Those findings, however, cannot establish that hibiscus alone produces the same effects because the participants received more than one plant extract.
Other possible effects
Hibiscus has been studied more extensively for blood pressure than for weight loss.
In a randomized trial involving 65 adults with prehypertension or mild hypertension, drinking three 240-milliliter servings of hibiscus tea daily for six weeks reduced systolic blood pressure compared with a placebo beverage. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says evidence for hibiscus and other dietary supplements in lowering blood pressure remains limited, and their effects are small compared with blood-pressure medicines.
Hibiscus also contains compounds that have antioxidant activity, but claims that drinking the tea can “eliminate toxins,” strengthen the immune system or slow ageing go beyond what the available clinical evidence can establish.
How to view hibiscus tea
For someone who enjoys hibiscus tea, it can be included as a low-calorie beverage when prepared without added sugar. But current research does not establish a particular number of cups per day, a specific preparation method or a timing schedule that will produce weight loss.
The evidence also does not support treating hibiscus tea as a stand-alone weight-loss treatment.
The strongest current conclusion is more modest: hibiscus has been studied for several potential health effects, including blood pressure and metabolic measures, but evidence for meaningful weight loss remains inconclusive. More large, well-designed human trials are needed to determine whether ordinary hibiscus tea has an effect on body weight.
