The effects of roasted yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis A. ST. Hil.) consumption on glycemia and total serum creatine phosphokinase in patients with traumatic brain injury

Physiological effects of yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis): a systematic review

CONTEXT

Clinical studies have found an association between yerba maté intake and beneficial physiological effects. Nevertheless, no systematic reviews have been conducted to shed light on the data supporting this association.

OBJECTIVE

The present systematic review aimed to investigate the physiological effects of yerba maté.

DATA SOURCES

Searches were performed in 6 databases (Embase, LILACS, Scopus, PubMed, SciELO, Web of Science) and 3 grey literature databases (OpenGrey, ProQuest, Google Scholar). Relevant publications were identified, and the reference lists of included studies were searched manually for randomized clinical trials, nonrandomized clinical trials, and observational studies investigating the physiological effects of yerba maté.

DATA EXTRACTION

Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized trials and the Cochrane ROBINS-I (Risk Of Bias In Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions) tool. Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools were used for cross-sectional, case series, cohort, and case-control studies. The overall certainty of the evidence was estimated using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) working group summary of findings table.

DATA ANALYSIS

Of 1096 studies identified, 32 were included. Studies showed consistent effects of yerba maté intake on metabolism improvement and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in different populations. Benefits for body weight and composition, exercise performance, mood, and appetite, in addition cardio- and neuroprotective effects, were also observed. Risk of bias was categorized as high in 22 studies, moderate in 9 studies, and low in 1 study. The certainty of evidence ranged from moderate to very low.

CONCLUSION

The available literature indicates that yerba maté can be used within a balanced and healthy diet for prevention and adjuvant treatment of chronic diseases.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration number CRD42020200196.

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.) for new therapeutic and nutraceutical interventions: A review of patents issued in the last 20 years (2000-2020)

It has been estimated that more than 70% of all drugs approved worldwide between 1981 and 2006 for human health are derived from or structurally similar to natural compounds. The identification of biological matrices containing bioactive compounds with therapeutic and nutraceutical potential is necessary to supply the global market demands. Researches have indicated that the consumption of dry and aqueous extracts of Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. is safe, providing that plant biomass does not be exposed to smoke over the drying process, avoiding contamination (e.g., ) with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, and can might help avoiding many diseases, with important potential applications in the pharma and nutraceutical industries. A survey was carried out covering the main therapeutic and nutraceutical studies performed on I. paraguariensis extracts and their relationship with the global patents granted in the last 20 years for the products using this specie in their composition. In the PubMed database, by searching for the term "Ilex paraguariensis," an output with 497 scientific publications was found. Each paper was analyzed individually and 26 publications encompassing exclusively therapeutical and nutraceutical approaches of that plant species were selected. For the patent screening regarding Ilex-derived products, the survey considered three patent databases: European Patent Office (EPO) (Espacenet), World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO), and National Institute of Industrial Property (NIIP-Brazil). The criterion chosen to select the patents in the databases was the inclusion of the terms "Ilex paraguariensis" and "yerba mate" in the title and/or in the abstract, considering the patents issued from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, only patents with therapeutic and nutraceutical potential were considered on the survey. The screening and selection of the documents were performed independently by two researchers and the information cross-checked at the end. This review contributes to show the state of the art over the last 20 years on the knowledge about the therapeutical and nutraceutical usages of the yerba mate, associated to a certain number of issued patents. The patent survey afforded 62 relevant documents covering products based on Ilex paraguariensis biomass. Considering the number of patents issued, most of them are related to the pharmaceutical area (30), followed by food supplements and beverages (17), cosmetics (10) and, finally, nutraceuticals (5). A detailed analysis of the patents issued showed that most are related to pharmaceutical grade products, generally, marketed as oral and injectable compositions for treatments of obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipemia and diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis, neurological diseases, and SARS-Cov-2, for example. In this work, a curious fact is that there are few patents for food, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals products containing yerba mate. Therefore, it seems to be relevant to take into account the potential of that species as source of bioactive compounds for the development of new products not only intended to the pharma sector. In this sense, 26 reports were identified showing possibilities and trendiness in developing new yerba mate based products, such as packaging, biopesticides, antiseptics, and food supply, expanding the possibilities of technological applications of this plant species.

Phenolic Compounds Present in Yerba Mate Potentially Increase Human Health: A Critical Review

Yerba Mate (YM) is a food product derived from Ilex paraguariensis whose constituents obtained from its extract, mainly the phenolic fraction, have been linked to numerous health benefits, such as cardiovascular protection, weight reduction, glucose control, and gene modulation. However, evidences linking phenolic compounds (PC) intake and human health are still limited and often contentious. Several researches have shown that key PC elements are poorly absorbed in humans and exist predominantly as conjugates, which may not be bioactive but may play a crucial role when interacting with the gut microbiota (GM). As the intestine is the largest microorganism-populated organ in the human body, GM has been regarded as a "microbial organ", acting as a second genome for modulating the host's health phenotype. For this reason, the study of intestinal microbiota has received considerable attention in recent years. Its impact on the development of nutrition-related diseases must motivate broader researches on the interaction between YM's PC and GM regarding the production of metabolites that may influence human health. This review aimed to gather and assess the available information about how PC from YM may impact host metabolism and the immune system and GM.

Phytochemical composition of extracts from yerba mate chimarrão

Yerba mate is a tree natural from South America, traditionally daily consumed as hot (chimarrão) or cold (tereré) and roasted leaves (mate tea) infusions, being an important source of polyphenols and flavonoids in human nutrition. To produce bioactive-rich extracts from yerba mate, oven-dried leaves at 35 °C and three different commercial products, named M, T, and S, were extracted using different General Recognized as Safe solvents (distilled water (W), ethanol (E), and water: ethanol (1:1, v:v) (WE)). The yerba mate extracts were analyzed for total and soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity. The WE solvent resulted in the highest TPC and TFC. However, the commercial samples showed a higher concentration of phytochemicals than oven-dried leaves, and the commercial sample T showed the lowest content of total solids and the highest content of soluble solids (°Brix). The industrial processing of yerba mate aids the TPC and TFC preservation, resulting in extracts with superior phytochemicals concentration when compared with the oven-dried sample.