Roselle calyces (Hibiscus sabdariffa), an alternative to the food and beverages industries: a review

The need to add value to cultivated and native plant products that have medicinal and nutritional properties is increasing due to the consumers demand. Nowadays, the bioactive compounds (phytochemicals) found in plants have many uses in the therapeutic, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Dried Roselle calyces (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) are commercially available and appreciated to obtain concentrated extracts which might be used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. It has been shown that ingestion of infusions of Roselle may help to reduce chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. This could be due to the activity of some compounds, mainly flavonoids and anthocyanins, found as natural antioxidants in Roselle extracts. Numerous researchers have pointed out that Roselle and its extracts possess functional properties from where advances can be taken for developing new products with additional nutritious characteristics that may provide health benefits to consumers. Food products from Roselle are known as functional foods, which may provide health benefits to consumers because of its significant contribution of phytochemicals. In this sense, one of the main challenges that companies face todays is the development of new value-added products to meet the consumer's demands. This article presents a review of the most relevant aspects of Roselle as well as its health benefits and its application in the food and beverage areas.