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Yerba mate
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This article is about the plant, for the drink seemate (beverage).
Yerba mate / Erva-mate

Ilex paraguariensis
Conservation status

Near Threatened
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Aquifoliales
Family:Aquifoliaceae
Genus:Ilex
Species: I. paraguariensis
Binomial name
Ilex paraguariensis
A. St. Hil.
Yerba mate / Erva-mate*, Ilex paraguariensis, is aspecies ofholly (familyAquifoliaceae) native to subtropicalSouth America inArgentina, easternParaguay, westernUruguay and southernBrazil.[1]
The yerba mate plant is ashrub or smalltree growing up to 15meters tall. Theleaves areevergreen, 7–11 cm long and 3–5.5 cm wide, with a serrated margin. Theflowers are small, greenish-white, with four petals. Thefruit is a redberry 4–6 mm diameter.[2]
Contents
[hide]
1 Infusion
2 Nomenclature
3 Cultivation
4 Chemical composition and properties
5 See also
6 References
[edit] Infusion
The infusion calledmateis prepared by steeping dry leaves (and twigs) of yerba mate in hotwater, rather than boiling water like black tea or coffee. It is aslightly less potentstimulant than coffee and much gentler on the stomach. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollowgourd (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 inArgentina,[3][4]Uruguay,Paraguay, southernChile, easternBolivia andBrazil[5] and alsoSyria andLebanon.
The flavor of brewed yerba mate is strongly vegetal, herbal, andgrassy, reminiscent of some varieties of green tea. Many consider theflavor to be very agreeable, but it is generally bitter if steeped inboiling water, so it is made using hot but not boiling water. Unlikemost teas, it does not become bitter and astringent when steeped forextended periods, and the leaves may be infused several times.Additionally, one can purchase flavored mate in many varieties.
InBrazil, a toasted version of mate, known as chá mateor "mate tea", is sold in teabag and loose form, and served, sweetened,in specialized shops, either hot or iced with fruit juice or milk. Aniced, sweetened version of toasted mate is sold as an uncarbonatedsoft drink,with or without fruit flavoring. The toasted variety of mate has lessof a bitter flavor and more of a spicy fragrance. It is more popular inthe coastal cities ofBrazil,as opposed to the far southern states where it is consumed in thetraditional way (green, drunk with a silver straw from a shared gourd).
Similarly, a form of mate is sold in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguayin tea bags to be drunk in a similar way to tea. This is known inSpanish as mate cocido or cocido. In Argentina this is commonly drunk with breakfast or as part of merienda (roughly, afternoon tea), often with a selection of facturas (sweet pastries). It is also made by heating yerba in water and straining it as it cools.
In Paraguay, yerba mate is also drunk as a cold beverage. Usuallydrunk out of a cows horn in the countryside, terrerre as it is known inthe guaraní language, is served with cold or iced water. Medicinalherbs mixed in a mortar and pestle are added to the water for taste ormedicinal reasons.
[edit] Nomenclature
Thepronunciation of yerba mate in standardSpanish is [???rβa ?mate]. TheRioplatense dialect spoken in most of Argentina turns the first sound in yerba into apostalveolarfricative consonant, giving [???rβa] in regions closer toBuenos Aires, gradually blending into [???rβa] as one goes farther from the city, and eventually to [d??rβa] aroundMendoza. The word hierba isSpanish for grass or herb; yerba is a variant spelling of it which is quite common in Argentina. Mate is from theQuechua mati, meaning "cup". Yerba mate is therefore literally the "cup herb".
The (Brazilian) Portuguese name is erva-mate [??rva ?mati] (also pronounced as [??rva ?mate] in some regions) and is also used to prepare the drinkschimarrão (hot) ortereré(cold). While the tea is made with the toasted leaves, these drinks aremade with green ones, and are very popular in the south of the country.The name given to the plant inGuaraní (Guarani, in Portuguese), language of the indigenous people who first cultivated and enjoyed erva-mate / yerba mate, is ka‘a, which has the same meaning as erva/yerba.
InEnglish-speaking countries, the spelling used is yerba maté (with an accented é)[6][7][8][9]—where theacute accent indicates that the e is not mute (when the e is mute the term ismate as, e.g., in school-mate).
[edit] Cultivation

Yerba mate / Erva-mate
The plant is grown mainly inSouth America, more specifically in NorthernArgentina (Corrientes,Misiones),Paraguay,Uruguay and southernBrazil (Rio Grande do Sul,Santa Catarina andParaná). TheGuaraní are reputed to be the first people who cultivated the plant; the first Europeans to do this wereJesuitmissionaries, who spread the drinking habit as far asEcuador.[10]
When the yerba is harvested, the branches are dried sometimes with awood fire, imparting a smoky flavor. Then the leaves and sometimes thetwigs are broken up.
There are many brands and types of yerba, with and without twigs,some with low powder content. Some types are less strong in flavor (suave, "soft") and there are blends flavored withmint,orange andgrapefruit skin, etc.
[edit] Chemical composition and properties

Leaves of yerba mate / erva-mate

Yerba mate / erva-mate with stems
Mate containsxanthines, which arealkaloids in the same family ascaffeine,theophylline, andtheobromine, well-known stimulants also found incoffee andchocolate. Mate also contains elements such aspotassium,magnesium andmanganese.[11]Caffeine content varies between 0.3% and 1.7% of dry weight (comparethis to 2.5–4.5% for tea leaves, and 1.5% for ground coffee).
Mate products are sometimes marketed as "caffeine-free" alternativesto coffee and tea, and said to have fewer negative effects. This isoften based on a claim that the primary active xanthine in mate is"mateine", erroneously said to be astereoisomer ofcaffeine (as it is not chemically possible for caffeine to have a stereoisomer). "Mateine" is an official synonym ofcaffeine in the chemical databases.[12]
Researchers atFlorida International Universityin Miami have found that yerba mate does contain caffeine, but somepeople seem to tolerate a mate drink better than coffee or tea. This isexpected since mate contains different chemicals (other than caffeine)from tea or coffee.
From reports of personal experience with mate, its physiologicaleffects are similar to (yet distinct from) more widespread caffeinatedbeverages like coffee, tea, orguarana drinks. Users report a mental state of wakefulness, focus and alertness reminiscent of moststimulants,but often remark on mate‘s unique lack of the negative effectstypically created by other such compounds, such as anxiety, diarrhea,"jitteriness", and heart palpitations. (The laxative effect of coffeederives from a substance that surrounds the raw bean, not the caffeineitself.)
Reasons for mate‘s unique physiological attributes are beginning toemerge in scientific research. Studies of mate, though very limited,have shown preliminary evidence that the mate xanthine cocktail isdifferent from other plants containing caffeine most significantly inits effects onmuscle tissue, as opposed to those on thecentral nervous system, which are similar to those of other natural stimulants. Mate has been shown to have a relaxing effect onsmooth muscle tissue, and a stimulating effect onmyocardial (heart) tissue.[13]
Mate‘s negative effects are anecdotally claimed to be of a lesserdegree than those of coffee, though no explanation for this is offeredor even credibly postulated, except for its potential as a placeboeffect. Many users report that drinking yerba mate does not preventthem from being able to fall asleep, as is often the case with somemore common stimulating beverages, while still enhancing their energyand ability to remain awake at will. However, the net amount ofcaffeine in one preparation of yerba mate is typically quite high, inlarge part because the repeated filling of the mate with hot water isable to extract the highly-soluble xanthines extremely effectively. Itis for this reason that one mate may be shared among several people andyet produce the desired stimulating effect in all of them.
In-vivo and in-vitro studies are showing yerba mate to exhibitsignificant cancer-fighting activity. Researchers at the University ofIllinois (2005) found yerba mate to be "rich in phenolic constituents"and to "inhibit oral cancer cell proliferation".[14]
On the other hand, a study by the International Agency for Researchon Cancer showed a limited correlation between oral cancer and thedrinking of hot mate (no data were collected on drinkers of cold mate).Given the influence of the temperature of water, as well as the lack ofcomplete adjustment for age, alcohol consumption and smoking, the studyconcludes that mate is "not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity tohumans".[15]
An August 11, 2005 United States patent application (documents #20050176777, #20030185908,[16] and #20020054926) cites yerba mate extract as an inhibitor of MAO activity; the maximal inhibition observed in vitro was 40–50%. Amonoamine oxidase inhibitor is a type ofantidepressant, so there is some data to suggest that yerba mate has a calming effect in this regard.
In addition, it has been noted by the U.S. Army Center for HealthPromotion and Preventive Medicine that yerba mate can cause high bloodpressure when used in conjunction with other MAO inhibitors (such asNardil andParnate).[17]
Emerging research also shows that Yerba Mate preparations can alterthe concentration of members of the ecto-nucleoside triphosphatediphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase) family, resulting in an elevated levelof extracellular ATP,ADP, and AMP. This was found with chronicingestion (15 days)of an aqueous Yerba extract, and can lead to a novelmechanism for manipulation of vascular regenerative factors, i.e.,treating heart disease.[1].
Mate contains both caffeine and theobromine (which antagonizeadenosine receptors) and reduces the bodies production of adenosine inthe blood (prolongs half life of ATP, ADP, and AMP). These twoprocesses will synergize to provide a much cleaner stimulation than asimple dose of caffeine (only blocking adenosine receptors).
[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:Ilex paraguariensis
Mate (beverage)
Materva (mate soft drink)
Yaupon Holly
Black drink
Ilex guayusa
Chimarrão (Brazilian mate infusion)
Tereré (another type of infusion)
Ku Ding tea Ilex kudingcha
[edit] References
^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1998).Ilex paraguariensis. 2006IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006.
^Yerba mate — what? at Ushuaia.pl.
^Yerba Mate: National Drink of Argentina?
^Yerba mate in Argentina
^Basic guide to yerba mate.
^ The New Oxford American Dictionary
^ The Oxford English Dictionary
^American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
^ theMerriam-Webster‘s Online Dictionary
^ Ross W. Jamieson "The Essence of Commodification: Caffeine dependencies in the early modern world", Journal of Social History, Winter 2001http://www.yerba-mate.com/yerba_mate_history.htm
^Mundo Matero - Chemical Features
^Does Yerba Mate Contain Caffeine or Mateine?
^ RainTree Nutrition, Tropical Plant Database.Yerba mate.
^ Pixie Maté.Studies on Yerba mate healthy energy.
^International Agency for Research on Cancer, Mate Research
^US Patent description of "Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors and uses thereof"
^Dietary supplemental fact sheet from theU.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine.