Yerba mate

Yerba mate (Rioplatense Spanish or erva mate (Portuguese) (Ilex paraguariensis) is a species of holly (family Aquifoliaceae) native to subtropical South America in northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil and Bolivia. A highly caffeinated herbal tea called mate is prepared by steeping the dried leaves in hot water. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd (also called a mate in Spanish, or cabaça or cuia in Portuguese) with a metal straw (a bombilla in Spanish, bomba or canudo in Portuguese) is an extremely common social practice in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and southern Brazil. Its use has also been introduced into Lebanon and Syria, particularly among the Druze minority.

The yerba mate plant is a shrub or small tree growing up to 15 meters tall. The leaves are evergreen, 7–11 cm long and 3–5.5 cm wide, with a serrated margin. The flowers are small, greenish-white, with four petals. The fruit is a red berry 4–6 mm diameter.

The pronunciation of yerba mate is . The word hierba is Spanish for grass or herb; yerba is a variant spelling of it which is quite common in Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico. Mate is from the Quechua mati, meaning "cup". Yerba mate is therefore literally the "cup herb". The Rioplatense dialect spoken in Argentina turns the first sound in yerba into a postalveolar fricative, giving or .

The (Brazilian) Portuguese name is erva mate (also pronounced as in some regions) and is known coloquially as chimarrão (when taken hot) or tereré (when taken cold). The name given to the plant in Guaraní, language of the indigenous people who first cultivated and enjoyed yerba mate, is ka'a, which has the same meaning as yerba.

Mate is often written maté in English to distinguish the pronunciation and meaning from the English word mate, by analogy with words of French origin whose é distinguishes them from otherwise identically-spelt English words, such as résumé and resume. Some linguistic prescriptivists regard this usage as an erroneous hypercorrection.

Cultivation

The plant is grown mainly in South America, more specifically in Paraguay, Northern Argentina (Corrientes, Misiones), Uruguay and southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná). The Guaraní are reputed to be the first people who cultivated the plant; the first Europeans to do this were Jesuit missionaries, who spread the drinking habit as far as Ecuador.

When the yerba is harvested, the branches are dried sometimes with a wood fire, imparting a smoky flavour. Then the leaves and sometimes the twigs are broken up.

There are many brands and types of yerba, with twigs, and without and low powder content. Some types are less strong in flavor (suave, "soft") and there are blends flavored with mint, orange and grapefruit skin, etc.

Chemical composition and properties

Mate contains xanthines, which are alkaloids in the same family as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, well-known stimulants also found in coffee and chocolate. Mate also contains the chemical elements potassium, magnesium and manganese ^*. Caffeine content varies between 0.3% and 1.7% of dry weight (compare this to 2.5–4.5% for tea leaves, and 1.5% for ground coffee).

Mate products are sometimes marketed as "caffeine-free" alternatives to coffee and tea, and said to have fewer negative effects. This is often based on a claim that the primary active xanthine in mate is "mateine", erroneously said to be a stereoisomer of caffeine (as it is not chemically possible for caffeine to have a stereoisomer). "Mateine" is an official synonym of caffeine in the chemical databases.

Researchers at Florida International University in Miami have found that yerba mate does contain caffeine, but some people seem to tolerate a mate drink better than coffee or tea. This is expected since their chemicals other than caffeine are different.

From reports of personal experience with mate, its physiological effects are similar to (yet distinct from) more widespread caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea or guarana drinks. Users report a mental state of wakefulness, focus and alertness reminiscent of most stimulants, but often remark on mate's unique lack of the negative effects typically created by other such compounds, such as anxiety, diarrhea, "jitteriness", and heart palpitations.

Reasons for mate's unique physiological attributes are beginning to emerge in scientific research. Studies of mate, though very limited, have shown preliminary evidence that the mate xanthine cocktail is different from other plants containing caffeine most significantly in its effects on muscle tissue, as opposed to those on the central nervous system, which are similar to those of other natural stimulants. Mate has been shown to have a relaxing effect on smooth muscle tissue, and a stimulating effect on myocardial (heart) tissue.

Mate's negative effects are anecdotally claimed to be of a lesser degree than those of caffeine, though no explanation for this is offered or even credibly postulated, except for its potential as a placebo effect. Many users report that drinking yerba mate does not prevent them from being able to fall asleep, as is often the case with some more common stimulating beverages, while still enhancing their energy and ability to remain awake at will. However, the net amount of caffeine in one preparation of yerba mate is typically quite high, in large part because the repeated filling of the mate with hot water is able to extract the highly-soluble xanthines extremely effectively. It is for this reason that one mate may be shared among several people and yet produce the desired stimulating effect in all of them.

In-vivo and in-vitro studies are showing yerba mate to exhibit significant cancer-fighting activity. Researchers at the University of Illinois (2005) found yerba mate to be "rich in phenolic constituents" and to "inhibit oral cancer cell proliferation".

An August 11, 2005 United States patent application (document #20050176777 & #20030185908 & #20020054926) cites yerba mate as a 40–50% inhibitor of MAO activity. A monoamine oxidase inhibitor is a type of antidepressant, so there is some data to suggest that yerba mate has calming effect in this regard.

References

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Aquifoliales | Flora of Brazil | Latin American cuisine | Herbal and fungal stimulants | Herbal tea

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Cultivation

Chemical composition and properties

See also

References

External links