THE CONTROL OF HYPERTENSION IN MAN BY ADMINISTRATION OF COCONUT WATER AND MAUBY

Studies have shown that more than 30% of the adult population of African decent in the Caribbean suffers from hypertension. For a significant number of those affected it is found that beta blockers and the ACE-inhibitors are not particularly effective, thus the search for alternative treatments continue. Here we report the outcome of a study in which coconut water and mauby were administered in an attempt to control hypertension.
Twenty-eight hypertensive subjects were divided into four equal groups and their diastolic blood and systolic and pressure recorded for a minimum of 5 out of 10 consecutive working days. Following this each group received 300 ml of a specific drink twice daily for two weeks. Group 1 (the control) received bottled water, group 2 received coconut water, group 3 received mauby and group 4 recieved a mixture of coconut water and mauby. Blood pressure readings were again recorded for a minimum of 5 days during treatment period.
Compared to the control group which showed no change, 71 % of the subjects receiving the coconut water showed a significant decrease, (p< 0.005) in the mean systolic pressure, while a significant decrease in the mean diastolic pressure was observed for 29% of the group. Forty percent (40 %) of the ‘mauby’ group showed a significant decrease in the mean systolic pressure; also 40 % of the subjects in this group showed a significant decrease in the mean diastolic pressure. For the group receiving the coconut water-mauby mixture, 43 % showed a significant decrease in systolic and 57% a significant decrease in diastolic pressure. Also for this group the decreases tended to be larger than those seen for the others: For example the largest decrease in systolic pressure (24 mm Hg) and diastolic pressure (15 mm Hg) were approximately double the largest values seen when either drink was administered separately. These results suggest that regular consumption of either coconut water or mauby but particularly a mixture of the two is effective in bringing about the control of hypertension.