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An extract of the hibiscus flower may have the same health benefits as red wine and tea according to scientists in Taiwan , who have found the plant to lower cholesterol in rats.

Hibiscus extract, already used to give colour and flavour to beverages, contains many of the same antioxidant compounds as red wine, including flavonoids, polyphenols and anthocyanins, shown in research to prevent the oxidation of low-lensity lipoproteins (LDL), or ‘ bad ’ cholesterol.

It could therefore have important heart health benefits when consumed in food and drink.

“Experiments have shown that compounds extracted from red wine and tea reduces cholesterol and lipid build-up in the arteries of rats. This is the first study to show that Hibiscus extract has the same effect,” said new study leader Chau-Jong Wang from the Chung Shan Medical University in the Republic of China.

The study, published online today in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture , tested four groups of rats on different diets; one control, one high cholesterol control, and two high cholesterol diets supplemented with different amounts of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract.

After 12 weeks, blood tests showed that the extract significantly reduced cholesterol content in blood serum and successfully prevented oxidation of low-density lipoproteins. The study also found hibiscus extract could suppress blood lipid levels including triglycerides and total cholesterol significantly.

“These data strongly suggest that the hibiscus extract is potentially applicable to prevent atherosclerosis in humans via its anti-hyperlipidaemic effect and anti-LDL oxidation,” write the authors. It may therefore be useful in the prevention of a number of cardiovascular diseases in which cholesterol plays a major role.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality globally, according to the World Health Organisation. Foods designed to help prevent heart disease are growing at an annual compound rate of 7.6 per cent, according to Datamonitor, predicted to reach sales of ₤145 million (€212m) in 2007 in the UK alone.

Hibiscus sabdariffa is cultivated all over the world, with the biggest producers in Sudan, Egypt, China, India and Thailand. It has previously been used in traditional medicine to treat hypertension and liver disorder, although there is as yet little science to confirm these effects.

The flower extracts are also used to make jams, sauces, herbal teas and increasingly added to soft drinks in various countries across the world.

German company Plantextrakt, which supplies the plant for food uses, said it was not aware of previous research on its cholesterol-lowering properties but its antioxidant potential is well-established.

Armed police are guarding the Commons chamber for the first time on Thursday after pro-hunt protesters burst in as MPs debated a hunting ban.

Eight men were arrested and will be questioned by police on suspicion of forgery, burglary with intent to commit criminal damage and violent disorder.

The head of the Metropolitan Police says the invasion seems an inside job.

Meanwhile, the police watchdog is to examine claims of police misconduct at the hunt rally outside Parliament.

Thirteen people are also being held in connection with clashes with police that broke out at a pro-hunting rally outside Parliament.

It is understood 19 people, including two police officers, were injured, none of them seriously.

But the main focus at Westminster is on the five protesters who burst into the Commons chamber on Wednesday. Another three men were overpowered at the chamber's entrance.

Police officers armed with guns are now positioned by the entrances to the Commons chamber - which previously have been guarded just by the serjeant-at-arms' staff.

Commons leader Peter Hain has called the incident "deadly serious" and says Parliament must modernise its security procedures.

But Speaker Michael Martin said he did not want security questions raised with Mr Hain in the Commons at Thursday lunchtime, saying he did not want such issues raised publicly.

The House of Commons commission would be addressing the issues after Parliament's break for the party conference season.

Clashes

Scotland Yard said those arrested over Wednesday's Commons protest were aged between 21 and 42.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens says a full investigation has been launched, with police seizing documents and articles.

Amongst those understood to have been arrested are England polo player Luke Tomlinson, 26, a close friend of Prince Harry, Otis Ferry, 21-year-old son of rock star Bryan Ferry, and point-to-point jockey Richard Wakeham.

Mr Wakeham's father, Anthony, backed his son's actions, saying: "The people in the countryside have got no option now."

The men are being held at Charing Cross police station, where a small band of pro-hunt demonstrators have gathered.

Despite the protest, MPs backed a ban on hunting in England and Wales by 339 to 155 votes.

However, a ban, which will be debated in the Lords next month, is not due to come into force until July 2006.

Commons Speaker Michael Martin told MPs police were investigating what appeared to have been a "carefully planned operation".

Inside help

He said: "Eight protesters were let into the House of Commons using a forged letter inviting them to a meeting in the committee corridor.

"Once there, they were led into the small stairway to the north end of the corridor - probably by a pass holder who was clearly exceeding his or her authority."

It was not clear whether the pass holder who apparently helped the intruders was an MP, a reporter or an employee of a member, he said.

It has emerged the BBC was tipped off about the planned intrusion on Wednesday morning by one of the protesters and told of a "dry run" carried out on Tuesday.

The BBC said it had not been certain the incident would take place and the information had come from somebody the journalist had never met. No violence had been threatened, it added.

Harangued

The incident has raised questions about whether Parliament's serjeant-at-arms and his staff, who traditionally wear tights and breeches, should be replaced by a security director and police.

MI5 and the police had already been reviewing security at Parliament, where a Tony Blair was hit by a flour bomb in May. Their report will be delivered within the next two weeks.

The Metropolitan Police is demanding a review of the rule which bans police officers from banning the Commons chamber unless invited by the serjeant-at-arms.

Downing Street says there was "deep concern" about the protest at Thursday's Cabinet meeting.

Mr Blair's spokesman said it was initially a matter for the Commons authorities but he added: "The need for urgency is obvious."

Shadow home secretary David Davis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What we have witnessed is something which puts a large number of people at risk, not just in the House of Commons - it will encourage terrorists elsewhere."

Diet gets healthier as people age

Contrary to popular opinion, adults do eat more healthily than they did as children

Newcastle University researchers looked at the diets of 200 children aged 11 and 12, then again 20 years later.

They found as adults, they ate around twice the amount of fruit and vegetables and less fat and sugar as they had as children.

But the study, in Appetite, found some saw barriers, such as a perceived lack of time, to healthy eating.

This group often believed fruit and vegetables needed time for preparation and cooking and were more likely to have smaller intakes in fruit and vegetables.

'Messages getting through'

In addition to perceptions of the time available to prepare food, participants said parents, partners and children could affect their attitudes to their diet.

So those who saw their parents' influence as positive consumed more fruit and vegetables as adolescents.

Whether partners were seen as positive or negative depended largely on gender.

A third of people - mainly men - felt their partners had a positive influence on their diet, 10% - mainly women - said their partners' influence was negative.

Amelia Lake, a registered dietician and Newcastle University researcher, who led the research said the findings suggested that general healthy eating messages - such as the five a day message on fruit and vegetables - were getting through to most people,

She added: "Work from this study has shown that children who were high fruit and vegetable consumers maintain this intake into their early thirties.

"This reaffirms the importance of the National Fruit in Schools Scheme, where children are being encouraged to eat fruit.

"We also need to examine the availability of healthy food in venues such the workplace and in shops. Despite all the healthy eating messages that abound, it's still easier to go to a local shop and buy a chocolate bar rather than a piece of fruit."

But she said they also needed to be more carefully targeted to reach individuals who believe their lifestyle still prevents them from eating well.

"A lot depends on people's individual coping mechanisms and attitude to life.

"A lack of time is not necessarily the reason for people not attempting to eat healthily.

"Some working adults are inspired to make a healthy meal in the evenings, while somebody with the same amount of time on their hands would feel under pressure and be inclined to send out for a takeaway."

Ms Lake added: "These results suggest that the diet is really up to the individual and their personality, and that general health messages are not necessarily enough when a variety of factors are working to prevent people from eating healthily

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