Protective effect of yerba mate intake on the cardiovascular system: a post hoc analysis study in postmenopausal women

Abstract

The prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases is increased in postmenopausal women, which contributes to the burden of illnesses in this period of life. Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a native bush from Southern South America. Its leaves are rich in phenolic components, which may have antioxidant, vasodilating, hypocholesterolemic, and hypoglycemic proprieties. This post hoc analysis of the case-control study nested in the Obesity and Bone Fracture Cohort evaluated the consumption of yerba mate and the prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and coronary diseases in postmenopausal women. Ninety-five postmenopausal women were included in this analysis. A questionnaire was applied to evaluate the risk factors and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and consumption of yerba mate infusion. Student's t-test and chi-square test were used to assess significant differences between groups. The group that consumed more than 1 L/day of mate infusion had significantly fewer diagnoses of coronary disease, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (P<0.049, P<0.048, and P<0.016, respectively). Furthermore, the serum levels of glucose were lower in the group with a higher consumption of yerba mate infusion (P<0.013). The serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides were similar between the groups. This pragmatic study points out the benefits of yerba mate consumption for the cardiovascular and metabolic systems. The ingestion of more than 1 L/day of mate infusion was associated with fewer self-reported cardiovascular diseases and lower serum levels of glucose. Longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the association between yerba mate infusion and reduction of cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women.

Adipose tissue of female Wistar rats respond to Ilex paraguariensis treatment after ovariectomy surgery

“…In fact, a case-control study with 95 postmenopausal women revealed that consumption of mate extract is associated with a lower occurrence of coronary heart disease, dyslipidaemia and hypertension, confirming the potential use of this extract for this population. 22 …”

“… 4 Another investigation with postmenopausal women, reported modulation of glycaemic levels after consumption of yerba mate extract. 22 It can hardly be said that the mechanism by which Ilex paraguariensis acts on serum glucose levels is only by WAT in an oestrogen-deficient state. However, the impressive modulation of oxidation and lipid synthesis from glucose in WAT contributes to a small elucidation of the broad effects of this extract, which is capable of modulating other key tissues of energy metabolism.…”

“…We believe, the potential use of Ilex paraguariensis has never been explored in an animal model of ovariectomy. Even with indicating the energy imbalance benefits in postmenopausal women, 22 this issue needs further investigation. Nonetheless, the outcomes shown here, specifically the use of glucose substrate and lipolysis, are original, contributing to the elucidation of metabolic pathways in which this extract can beneficially modulate the adipose tissue of oestrogen-deficient females.…”

Health Benefits of Bioactive Compounds from the Genus Ilex, a Source of Traditional Caffeinated Beverages

“…In addition, improved blood viscosity and microcirculation were observed in 142 subjects supplemented with Yerba Mate tea (5 g/day) [ 88 ]. Moreover, reduced cardiovascular diseases were observed in 95 postmenopausal women consuming more than 1 L/day of mate infusion [ 89 ]. Thus, Ilex tea has great potential to be used as a preventive or therapeutic ingredient against cardiovascular diseases.…”

Yerba Mate Modulates Tumor Cells Functions Involved in Metastasis in Breast Cancer Models

“…YM is endowed with several biological properties, which many authors attribute to polyphenols ( Bastos et al, 2007 ). It has been demonstrated that YM has antioxidant capacity ( Filip et al, 2000 ), anti-inflammatory properties ( Alves et al, 2019 ), anti-obesity effect ( Ko and Auyeung 2013 ), cardiovascular protective effect ( de Veiga et al, 2018 ), and anti-tumoral effects ( Amigo-Benavent et al, 2017 ). There are studies about the anti-cancer properties of YM and its polyphenols.…”