Dr. Řádek

Yerba Mate in brief

Scientific name: Ilex paraguariensis Saint Hilaire

Family: Aquifloiaceae (1).

Popular names: Congonha, Erva mate, Erva congonha, Erva verdadeira, Erveira, Mate, Yerba mate, Jesuit’s tea, Paraguay tea (1, 6)

Used parts: Leaves (1)

Habitat: It grows in South Brazil, Argentine, Paraguay, Uruguay (1)

Chemical composition: caffeine (1), theobromine (1), theophylline (1), flavonoids (rutin, isoquercitrin, kaempferol glycosides) (6), essential oil (3), tannins (1), matesaponins (2), steroids and triterpenes (3), resin (3), caffeic acid derivatives (chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid) (6)

Indications: tonic (4), diuretic (4), diaphoretic (4), stimulant (4), antioxidant (5), antiseptic (4), ulcers (6), rheumatism (6), anemia (6), neurasthenia (6), depression (6), as diuretic for oliguria and as a prophylaxis against fever and infection. Externally Maté is used as poultice for ulcers and inflammation (6)

Contra indications: In large doses it causes purging and even vomiting (4)

Dose:
Inside use:
· Maté is available as comminuted herb for infusion, herb powder and as galenic preparations for internal use. The drug is available as filter teas in mono tea form and in various tea combinations such as bladder and kidney teas (6). To prepare an infusion, pour water that has just been brought to boil over 1 teaspoonful drug and leave to draw for 5 to 10 minutes, then strain. The briefly infused drink is more stimulant, less astringent and taste better (caffeine dissolves more quickly than the tannins) (6)
· Daily dosage 3 gm of drug (6)

Other information:
· Ilex paraguariensis is a South America native, perennial tree belonging to the holly family Aquifoliaceae. It has been used historically as source of a mildly stimulant beverage, called mate (“erva mate” or “yerba mate”), prepared by infusion of its dried leaves and twigs (8).
· Maté leaves, which are utilized for the preparation of tea like beverage in South America, contain purine alkaloids, namely caffeine and theobromine in 1843 and 1927, respectively; several reports have been published about the levels of these purine alkaloids in mate (7)

References:

1. ASHIHARA, H. Purine Metabolism and Biosynthesis of caffeine in Mate leave. Phytochemistry. v. 33, n. 6, p. 1427-1430, 1993.

2. FILIP, R. et al. Antioxidant activity of Ilex paraguariensis and related species. Nutrition Research. October, p. 1437-1446.

3. GRIEVE, M. A Modern Herbal. The medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folklore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs and trees with all their modern scientific uses, p. 609, 1993.

4. KRAEMER, K. H. et al. Matesaponin 5, a Highly Polar Saponin from Ilex paraguariensis. Phytochemistry. v. 42. n. 4, p. 1119-1122, 1996
5. LOGGIA, R. D. Piante Officinali per infuse e tisane. Um manuale su basi scientifche per Farmacisti e Medici. p. 319-321

6. LORENZI, H.; MATOS F. J. Plantas medicinais no Brasil. São Paulo. p. 71-72, 2002

7. MEDICAL ECONOMICS COMPANY. PDR for herbal medicines. 2. ed. Montvale: Copyright. p. 508, 2000.

8. REGINATTO, F. H.; ATHAYDE, M. L.; GOSMAN, G.; SCHENKEL, E. P. Methylxanthines Accumulation in Ilex Species – Caffeine and theobromine in Erva-Mate. J. Braz. Chem. Soc. V. 10, p. 443-446, 1999.