In the Sacramento and Davis regional area, scientists at UC Davis study the health effects and benefits of drinking Yerba mate tea. Scientists at another university now have found that yerba mate tea helps to destroy human colon cancer cells. Check out the latest study on molecular nutrition and food research scientists that show that compounds in mate tea induce death in colon cancer cells. See, "Compounds in mate tea induce death in colon cancer cells."
In a recent University of Illinois (Urbana) study, scientists showed that human colon cancer cells die when they are exposed to the approximate number of bioactive compounds present in one cup of mate tea, which has long been consumed in South America for its medicinal properties.
But mate has a high caffeine content --- comparable to that of coffee. Usually, people drink it for its central nervous system stimulant effects. Such effects include increased energy and enhanced alertness. If you have a fast heart beat or have a genetically over-aroused nervous system, there's no need for more stimulation. You'd probably want a tea with a calming, relaxing affect on your body.
Yerba mate also has diuretic properties, reports the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, which also stem from its caffeine content. Diuretics increase urination and can help flush the body of toxins contained in urine.
If you use yerba mate as a diuretic, drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration from the herb's diuretic properties. Also, if you are sensitive to caffeine, talk to your personal physician for advice on whether yerba mate is a good option for your overall health. Check out more on this information at the Yerba Mate Health Facts | LIVESTRONG.COM website.
Also see, Protective Effects Of Mate Tea | LIVESTRONG.COM and Yerba mate tea: Drink in moderation - LA Times - Health | e! Science. Check out the UC Davis sites, Elvira de Mejia - Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the UC Davis Clinical Research Center site article, Diet & Nutrition Yerba Mate: Safe to Drink? - MDInfo.
Now the new study from the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences has found that yerba mate tea destroys human colon cancer cells when those cells are exposed to the bioactive compounds in one brewed cup of yerba mate tea. Inflammation also was reduced from pouring the mate tea on human colon cancer cells in a lab setting.
"The caffeine derivatives in mate tea not only induced death in human colon cancer cells, they also reduced important markers of inflammation," said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I associate professor of food chemistry and food toxicology, according to the January 23, 2012 news release, "Compounds in mate tea induce death in colon cancer cells." The study came from the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.
Could preventing colon cancer be as simple as developing a taste for yerba mate tea? In a recent University of Illinois study, scientists showed that human colon cancer cells die when they are exposed to the approximate number of bioactive compounds present in one cup of this brew, which has long been consumed in South America for its medicinal properties.
"The caffeine derivatives in mate tea not only induced death in human colon cancer cells, they also reduced important markers of inflammation," said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I associate professor of food chemistry and food toxicology, according to the news release. That's important because inflammation can trigger the steps of cancer progression, she explained.
In the in vitro study, de Mejia and former graduate student Sirima Puangpraphant isolated, purified, and then treated human colon cancer cells with caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) derivatives from mate tea. As the scientists increased the CQA concentration, cancer cells died as a result of apoptosis.
"Put simply, the cancer cell self-destructs because its DNA has been damaged," she said in the news release. The ability to induce apoptosis, or cell death, is a promising tactic for therapeutic interventions in all types of cancer, she said.
de Mejia explained in the news release that the researchers were able to identify the mechanism that led to cell death. Certain CQA derivatives dramatically decreased several markers of inflammation, including NF-kappa-B, which regulates many genes that affect the process through the production of important enzymes.
What enzymes are in the yerba mate tea that destroys the human colon cancer cells?
Scientists look at the marker that links inflammation and cancer. What made the cancer cells die but not the normal cells?
Ultimately cancer cells died with the induction of two specific enzymes, caspase-3 and caspase-8, de Mejia said in the press release. "If we can reduce the activity of NF-kappa-B, the important marker that links inflammation and cancer, we'll be better able to control the transformation of normal cells to cancer cells," she added.
The results of the study strongly suggest that the caffeine derivatives in mate tea have potential as anti-cancer agents and could also be helpful in other diseases associated with inflammation, she explained in the news release. But, because the colon and its microflora play a major role in the absorption and metabolism of caffeine-related compounds, the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects of mate tea may be most useful in the colon.
"We believe there's ample evidence to support drinking mate tea for its bioactive benefits, especially if you have reason to be concerned about colon cancer. Mate tea bags are available in health food stores and are increasingly available in large supermarkets," she added, according to the news release.
The scientists have already completed and will soon publish the results of a study that compares the development of colon cancer in rats that drank mate tea as their only source of water with a control group that drank only water.
This in vitro study was published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research - Wiley-VCH, vol. 55, pp. 1509-1522, in 2011. Co-authors include Sirima Puangpraphant, now an assistant professor at Kasetsart University in Thailand; Greg Potts, an undergraduate student of the U of I; and Mark A. Berhow and Karl Vermillion of the USDA, ARS, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois. The work was funded by the U of I Research Board and Puangpraphant's Royal Thai Government Scholarship.
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