Mate – a “new” caffeine-containing ingredient for the food and beverage industry
- 15.10.2014
- English Articles
- Gertrud Winkler
- Miriam El Damaty
- Christa Schröder
- Dirk W. Lachenmeier
Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: March 31, 2014 | Revision accepted: July 03, 2014
Introduction
The leaves of the mate tree (Ilex paraguariensis) were already used as a recreational drug and medicine by the original inhabitants of South America. In the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries started to cultivate mate plants in plantations and spread the mate tree throughout South America. At the end of the 18th century, mate was introduced to Europe as a medicinal plant. Mate tea is now a widely used and popular caffeinated beverage in South America and the Middle East. It is drunk for its taste and stimulant effects and is now also added to beers, soft drinks, juices, sweets and ice [1–3].
Mate tea has recently become more popular in the USA and in Europe and is sold and advertised as an innovative ingredient for beverages and food supplements [1]. Product research studies were performed during previous work on the caffeine intake of children and adolescents and these have shown that mate is present in many different beverages [4–8]. The present article describes the current knowledge of mate products and lists the foods and beverages that contain mate.
Summary
Mate has gained increasing popularity. The concentrates and extracts are claimed to be innovative substances with various, mostly unsubstantiated health claims. Mate tea contains approximately 0.5 g/L caffeine, which is more than the amount in other caffeinated beverages (cola 0.1 g/L, tea 0.2 g/L, coffee 0.3 g/L). Mate may be added to tea mixtures and soft drinks, including energy drinks.
Keywords: mate, caffeine content, health effects, health claims, energy drinks
