effects of sour tea (hibiscus sabdariffa l.) consumption on anthropometric indices: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Beverages of hibiscus sabdariffa l. (sour tea) are widely used for improving liver diseases, hypertension cardio-metabolic indices, and body composition. nevertheless, little is known about the impacts of sour tea on body composition and anthropometric indices. this study aimed to systematically review and perform a meta-analysis on the evidence evaluating the effects of sour tea on body composition and anthropometric indices. international databases, including pubmed, scopus, and web of science, were searched to find clinical trial studies published up to february 2022. the response variables examined in the present study included body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat mass, and hip circumference. pooled effect size of mean difference (95% ci) between the treatment and placebo interventions was estimated for body weight (-0.51 kg, -3.35, 2.32), body mass index (-0.09 kg/m2, -0.98, 0.80), waist circumference (-0.26 cm, -2.86, 2.35), hip circumference (-0.07 cm, -2.87, 2.74), and body fat mass (-1.85 %, -4.90, 1.19). this meta-analysis showed that despite the reducing effect of sour tea consumption on body composition and anthropometric indices, this effect was not statistically significant. however, there are several determinant factors that probably affected our findings, including the type, dosage, and duration of the intervention as well as the heterogeneity of the target population. thus, future well‑designed clinical trials are suggested to establish a definitive conclusion in this regard.