WHAT IS YERBA MATE ?
Known as Argentina's national drink , yerba mate is consumed all over South America, much as coffee is drunk by Americans and tea by the English or Chinese.
Yerba Mate or Ilex Paraguariensis is an evergreen bush from the holly family that can reach a height of 10 to 20 meters. Mate grows only in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where it thrives on fertile soil and a subtropical climate.
Studies show that the Yerba Mate has the following components: water, cellulose, gums, dextrin, mucilage, glucose, pentose, fat substances, aromatic resin, legumin, albumin, xanthine, theophylline, caffearin, folic acid, caffeic acid, viridic acid, chlorophyll, cholesterin and essence oil. Ashes contain great amounts of potassium, lithium, folic, sulfuric, carbon, chloric and citric acids, beside magnesium, manganese, iron, aluminum and arsenic traces.
Xanthine, theophylline and theobromine are three strongly related alkaloids found in Yerba Mate and are the most interesting compounds from a therapeutic standpoint.
The Yerba Mate's xanthine rate averages 1.60%, whereas it is 1.10% in infusions. |
