A new study indicates that a popular botanical can help balance lipid levels when used alone or in combination with conventional pharmaceutical treatment. According to the American Heart Association, 106.7 million Americans age 20 and older have elevated levels of total cholesterol.
In this recently published clinical trial, investigators supplemented subjects with yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis) to evaluate the herb’s potential effects on lipid levels. In this study, 102 subjects were selected including those with normal lipid levels (normolipidemic), subjects with abnormal lipid levels (dyslipidemic) and subjects with elevated cholesterol levels (hypercholesterolemic), who were taking statin drugs. The subjects received 330 mL of green or roasted yerba maté infusions 3 times per day for 40 days.
The results showed that in the subjects with normal lipid levels, yerba maté ingestion reduced the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, commonly referred to as “bad” cholesterol, by 8.7 percent compared to the levels at the beginning of the study. In the subjects with abnormal lipid levels, yerba maté supplementation reduced the LDL cholesterol by 8.1 percent after 20 days and by 8.6 percent after 40 days. In addition, the subjects with dyslipidemia also showed a decrease in apolipoprotein B (ApoB) by 6 percent. ApoB is a component of LDL cholesterol, which is believed to be a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. The dyslipidemic subjects, who drank the yerba maté, also showed an increase of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) by 4.4 percent.
Additionally, the study found that in the subjects with elevated cholesterol currently taking statin drugs, yerba maté ingestion decreased LDL cholesterol by 10 percent after 20 days and 13.1 percent after 40 days. Also, HDL cholesterol increased by 6.2 percent in this group.
The study authors stated, “It was thus concluded that intake of yerba maté infusion improved the lipid parameters in normolipidemic and dyslipidemic subjects and provided an additional LDL cholesterol reduction in hypercholesterolemic subjects on statin treatment, which may reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases.”
Reference:
de Morais CE, Stefanuto A, Klein GA, Boaventura BC, de Andrade F, Wazlawik E, Di Pietro PF, Maraschin M, da Silva EL. Consumption of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Improves Serum Lipid Parameters in Healthy Dyslipidemic Subjects and Provides an Additional LDL-Cholesterol Reduction in Individuals on Statin Therapy. J Agric Food Chem. 2009; 57(18):8316-24.
Yerba Maté is found along with other synergistic ingredients in AGEBlock®.