Association between consumption of yerba mate and lipid profile in overweight women

Introduction: yerba mate is a traditional drink consumed in South America, produced from toasted leaves of Ilex paraguariensis. Several studies have demonstrated its lipid-lowering properties due to the presence of polyphenols and saponins. Objective: to analyze the effect of daily yerba mate consumption on the values of serum lipids and body composition in overweight women. Methods: 119 overweight women between 25 and 50 years were divided into three groups: Mate and Diet (MD), Mate without Diet (M), and Water and Diet (AD). For 12 weeks the M and MD groups were supplemented with mate, while the AD and MD groups maintained a hypocaloric food plan. Anthropometric measurements and blood tests (total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) were taken at the beginning and at the end of the study. The statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test or Wilcoxon's test for paired samples and ANOVA (p < 0.05 was considered significant in all cases). Results: total cholesterol decreased in all groups (10.21 mg/dL in MD, 18.29 mg/dL in M, and 17.63 mg/dL in AD, without differences between groups). LDL-cholesterol decreased in both groups with mate (8.07 mg/dL in MD, 16.04 mg/dL in M, without differences between groups) while HDL-cholesterol decreased in M (2.09 mg/dL). On the other hand, triglycerides fell 10.74 mg/dL in the MD group. Conclusions: a daily intake of mate helps reduce total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, and provides a reduction of triglycerides along with a low-calorie diet.