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January/February 2008 Alternative Health
Mate Tea Lowers Cholesterol

When a study found that mate tea drinkers experience a significant increase in the activity of an enzyme that promotes HDL (good) cholesterol while lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, University of Illinois scientist Elvira de Mejia headed for Argentina where mate tea has been grown and taken medicinally for centuries.

"Our studies show that some of the most important antioxidant enzymes in the body are induced by this herbal tea," says de Mejia in Planta Medica.

Not only does de Mejia hope to identify the most nutritionally beneficial genotypes of the herbal tea, she hopes that Argentina's experience with drying and processing mate tea will lead to improved extraction of the tea's bioactive compounds.

"Food companies are very interested in adding tea extracts to juices, soda and even beer to increase the nutritional value of their products," she says.

In the cholesterol study, blood levels of a cardio-protective enzyme were measured before and after healthy volunteers consumed approximately two cups of mate tea, milk or coffee. Activity of the enzyme increased an average of 10 percent for mate tea drinkers compared to the other drinks.

Researchers have found that mate tea is high in xanthines (mainly caffeine) and polyphenols, which are thought to have a protective effect against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

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