Although researchers can not identify the specific components of tea that play a role in lowering blood pressure, the researchers suspect that flavonoids, which are found in tea, have a vital function in preventing hypertension.
As published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the researchers took 95 volunteers randomly from Australia who have normal blood pressure. Volunteers then divided into two groups. One group of black tea and other drinks with the same flavor and aroma with caffeine content.
Before starting the test, the volunteers blood pressure was measured first, which is about 121/72 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Blood pressure is normal when a person is less than 120/80 mm Hg. Meanwhile, if a person's blood pressure reaches 140/90 mm Hg or more, then it came under the category of hypertension.
After that, the researchers assigned to each group to drink black tea three times daily for six months. After six months, participants who drank black tea decreased systolic blood pressure by 2 mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure also decreased by approximately 2 mm Hg.
Despite a decrease in blood pressure, researchers believe that the decline was not significant enough to bring someone out of danger zone associated with hypertension.
"The message is not true if one only relies on a continuous black tea," said Jonathan Hodgson, principal investigator of the University of Western Australia.
"There are small changes. This is not the same if you take blood pressure lowering drugs," continued Dr. Joseph Vita of Boston University, who was not involved with the study.
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