Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): A Comprehensive Review on Chemistry, Health Implications, and Technological Considerations

Abstract

Yerba Mate tea, an infusion made from the leaves of the tree Ilex paraguariensis, is a widely consumed nonalcoholic beverage in South America which is gaining rapid introduction into the world market, either as tea itself or as ingredient in formulated foods or dietary supplements. The indigenous people have used it for centuries as a social and medicinal beverage. Yerba Mate has been shown to be hypocholesterolemic, hepatoprotective, central nervous system stimulant, diuretic, and to benefit the cardiovascular system. It has also been suggested for obesity management. Yerba Mate protects DNA from oxidation and in vitro low-density lipoprotein lipoperoxidation and has a high antioxidant capacity. It has also been reported that Yerba Mate tea is associated to both the prevention and the cause of some types of cancers. Yerba Mate has gained public attention outside of South America, namely the United States and Europe, and research on this tea has been expanding. This review presents the usage, chemistry, biological activities, health effects, and some technological considerations for processing of Yerba Mate tea. Furthermore, it assesses in a concise and comprehensive way the potential of Ilex paraguariensis as a source of biological compounds for the nutraceutical industry.

Milk powder induced lipid peroxidation reduction using Ku Ding tea (Lactuca taiwaniana Maxim) in rats

“…This showed the ability of Ku Ding tea to reduce the rat body weight and this effect was more evident in the male than in female rats. Ilex species has been suggested for obesity management (Heck and Mejia 2007) and Ku Ding tea has also been believed to have weight loss properties in China. Zheng (2003) reported that 20 days administration of total terpene (TT) of Ku Ding tea to nutritional obese SD rats resulted in reduction of body weight.…”

Caracteristicas Quimicas E Fitoquimicas Do Material Resinoso Resultante Do Processamento Da Erva-Mate Ilex Paraguaienses St. Hil

“…Benefícios para a saúde têm sido atribuídos à erva-mate, com ação hipocolesterolêmica, hepatoprotetora, estimulante do sistema nervoso central e antioxidante pela presença de metabólitos ativos. Dentre eles, apresentam-se em concentrações signifi cativas os polifenóis (ácidos clorogênicos), as xantinas (cafeína e teobromina), seguidos dos fl avonoides (quercetina, kaempferol e rutina), entre outros (HECK; MEJIA, 2007).…”

“…Na análise do material resinoso, a indicação da presença desse metabólito é decorrente do desenvolvimento de coloração azulada/violácea/roxa ou amarela (prolina e hidroxi-prolina) com o reativo de ninhidrina, confi rmada pela coloração violácea em placas de sílica gel, tanto para o extrato aquoso como para o hidroalcoólico, confi rmando o estudo de Cardozo Júnior et al (2007 a,b) em amostras de folhas de erva-mate A presença de saponinas confi rmadas na aná-lise são substâncias glicosídicas com a propriedade de, em soluções aquosas, provocarem a formação de espumas devido à redução da tensão superficial. Apresentam ação detergente e emulsifi cante e, na erva-mate, são responsáveis pelo índice de amargor e espuma do produto (SUERTEGARAY, 2002;GNOATTO, SCHENKEL;BASSANI, 2005;BRAVO, GOYA;LECUMBERRI, 2007;HECK;MEJIA, 2007). Essa capacidade deve-se à presença de propriedades emulsivas nas saponinas.…”

“…Oxidam-se facilmente, sendo que muitos deles apresentam cor pela presença de produtos de oxidação. Os principais fl avonoides encontrados na erva-mate são rutina, quercetina-3-glicosídeo e canferol-3-rutinosídeo (SUERTEGARAY, 2002;RIBANI, 2006;HECK;MEJIA, 2007). A reação de Shinoda caracterizou no material resinoso os glicosídeos fl avônicos com o aparecimento de coloração rósea e a reação oxalo-bórica com fl uorescência amarelo esverdeado, quando observado sob a luz ultravioleta 365 nm e monitorado por cromatografi a em camada delgada, utilizando como substâncias de referência rutina, quercetina e canferol, e o vizualizado no reativo oxalo-bórico.…”

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of polyphenolic compounds in Ilex Sp.

“…The extracts contain mainly polyphenols like chlorogenic acid, purine alkaloids (methylxanthines) such as caffeine and theobromine, flavonoids, a combination of vitamins, tannins and numerous triterpenic saponins derived from ursolic acid [5,7,14]. The polyphenolic compounds of major importance in mate refer to caffeoyl derivatives, mainly monocaffeoyl quinic isomers and dicaffeoyl quinic isomers [7], and their level exceeds even that found in green tea, a typical 'antioxidant' product present on the market.…”