"Chimarrao" and "terere" are popular beverages consumed in South America prepared using mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.). "Chimarrao" consists of a partial infusion where hot water is added, while "terere" is a total infusion, with addition of cold water. This study was designed to simulate preparation of these beverages for consumption, in order to estimate the total amount of xanthines and phenolic compounds in aqueous extracts that would be ingested by the consumer. Different commercial types of mate were employed for "chimarrao" preparation (native, smooth, traditional, and course-ground), and these were compared to "terere". In "chimarrao", beverages from coarse-ground mate showed the highest levels of xanthines. However, "terere" presented quantities 2.5 times higher than the beverage of the coarse-ground mate. Considering the total phenolics in "chimarrao", there was no difference between the types of herbs, but in "terere", the extraction of almost all of the phenolics was observed.

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Rutin has shown promising results in reducing various human diseases. However, many plants consumed in Brazil do not have their rutin content reported in the literature yet. More than eighty plants were analyzed using aqueous (popularly known as tea) and ethanolic extraction (employed in commercial rutin purification) by liquid chromatography. Rutin was found in 47 samples when ethanol extraction was used. Echinodorus grandiflorus had the highest content (14,878.7 mg 1000 g-1), followed by Sambucus nigra, Drimys winteri and Taraxacum officinale. On aqueous infusion, Echinodorus grandiflorus, Sambucus nigra, Drimys winteri and Ruta graveolens presented the highest levels of rutin, ranging from 15.5 to 29.7 mg of rutin in 300 mL of infusion from 2 g of the plant. Echinodorus grandiflorus, Sambucus nigra, Drimys winteri, Taraxacum officinale and Ruta graveolens presented a high amount of flavonoid and might be good alternatives as ingredients in food and pharmaceuticals in order to obtain health benefits.

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