Yerba Mate, What Scientists Say

International scientist like Dr. Mowry Director of the Mountainwest Institute of Herbal Sciences, in Salt Lake City, Utah, has expressed, “It turns out that mateine is not identical to caffeine; it differs from caffeine in some rather dramatic ways. Some members of the scientific community still resort to calling mateine a South American term for caffeine, or to maintaining, in perfect knowledge of the falseness o f the assertion, that two substances so similar chemically must have the same properties. Slowly, they are being forced to acknowledge the distinction between mateine and caffeine.”

Modern studies seem to validate the difference between mate' and other xanthines-containing plants, such as guarana. Stereo-chemical and clinical wWork on xanthines in the last couple of decades have shown that, though similar in structure, the members of this class have widely varying pharmacology. In fact, there is only one effect that seems to be shared by all trimethyl xanthines: smooth muscle relaxation. It is this action that makes them with the exception of caffeine, whose smooth muscle relaxant effects are diminished by other side effects, good clinical dilators of the bronchi and hence useful in the treatment of asthma.”

Researchers at the Free Hygienic Institute of Hamburg, Germany, concluded that even if there were caffeine in mate', the amount would be so tiny that it would take 100 tea bags of mate' in a six ounce cup of water to equal the caffeine in a six ounce serving of regular coffee. Mateine appears to possess the best combination of xanthine properties possible. For example, like other xanthines, it stimulates the central nervous system, but unlike most, it is not habituating or addicting. Likewise, unlike caffeine, it induces better, not worse, attributes of sleep. It is a mild, not a strong, diuretic, as are many xanthines. It relaxes peripheral blood vessels, thereby reducing blood pressure, without the strong pressure effect on the medulla and heart exhibited by some xanthines. We also know that it improves psychomotor performance without the typical xanthine-induced depressant after effects.”

Clinical studies show, in fact, that individuals with caffeine sensitivities can ingest yerba mate' without adverse reactions. The time has come, therefore, to discard the outmoded ideas that (1) xanthines are all alike, (2) that yerba mate' contains caffeine, and (3) that mateine is identical with caffeine.” It is more likely that yerba mate is, as some say, “Natures most perfect beverage,” or, as others maintain, “the beverage of the Gods.” Summarizing the clinical studies of France, Germany, Argentina and other countries, it appears that we may be dealing here with the most powerful rejuvenator known to man. Unlike the guarana of the Tupi, the coca of the Incas, the coffee of India, or the tea of China, yerba mate' rejuvenates not by the false hopes of caffeine, but simply through the wealth of its nutrients.

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