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

María Virginia Avena Álvarez, Diego Nicolás Messina, Carla Corte, Jessica Anabella Mussi Stoizik, Aldana Saez, Paola Boarelli, Rafael Pérez Elizalde

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.