Yerba mate supplementation's anti-obesity effect supported by study

16 Nov 2017 --- Researchers have shown that use of the dietary supplement yerba mate over an extended period had significant effects on body weight and weight gain and was associated with lower levels of blood lipids and insulin in obese mice fed a high-fat diet. In recent years, the popularity of yerba mate has grown steadily in NPD, with an increasing number of food, beverage and supplement product launches with a variety of health claims featuring this South American plant.

This new study, which supports the anti-obesity effect of long-term supplementation with yerba mate, and its beneficial effects on related metabolic disorders, is published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, a peer-reviewed journal from the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers. The article is available on the Journal of Medicinal Food website.

A team of researchers from KyungPook National University (Daegu) and Pukyong National University (Busan), Republic of Korea, coauthored the article entitled “Long-Term Dietary Supplementation with Yerba Mate Ameliorates Diet-Induced Obesity and Metabolic Disorders in Mice by Regulating Energy Expenditure and Lipid Metabolism.”

The researchers compared measures including: weight gain/loss; energy expenditure; gene expression in fat tissue; lipid levels in the blood liver, and feces; and blood insulin levels as an indication of insulin resistance in animals with diet-induced obesity who did or did not receive supplementation with dietary yerba mate.

According to Innova Market Insights data, product launches tracked with yerba mate as an ingredient have seen a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 15 percent (2011-2016).

The top three health claims as percentage of product launches tracked with yerba mate as ingredient (Global, 2016) were Energy/Alertness, Weight Management and Digestive/Gut Health, respectively.

Yerba mate is mainly used in beverages, Innova Market Insights data show, with more than half of the product launches tracked with yerba mate as an ingredient in 2016 falling in the category of Hot Drinks and Cold Drinks accounting for a further quarter.

Notably, the rise of food and beverages with yerba mate as an ingredient has come at the expense of the category of Supplements. Although the number of actual launches has remained stable, the percentage of Supplement launches as part of the whole fell from 21 percent (2012) to 10 percent (2016).

Interesting product launches featuring yerba mate include Vega Sport Energiseur Pre-Entrainement Poudre Citron-Lime, a pre-workout energizer powder with lemon lime flavor, Fenioux Multi Sports 3 Turbo Punch Fluide Extrait d' Agrume liquid energy gel and a tea product called Yogi Tea Organic Limited Edition Wellness Collection.

By Lucy Gunn