Ilex paraguariensis
Yerba mate
CautionYerba mate—major cultural drink in southern Brazil and region.
Evergreen shrub to tree with simple leaves and small flowers.
- Family
- Aquifoliaceae
- Plant type
- Shrub / tree
What the safety levels mean (expand legend)
- Generally recognised as safe. Often a common herb with reasonable harvest and use; still read the specific warnings on the card.
- Information. Primarily informational — details in the text and warnings below matter most.
- Caution. Needs extra care (dose, duration, sensitive groups, interactions).
- Risky. Significant risks — verify sources, contraindications and professional guidance.
- Not for home experimentation. Not suitable to experiment with at home without knowledge and certainty.
- High risk for internal use. Particular risk with internal use (e.g. alkaloids); avoid prolonged or irresponsible dosing.
- Not specified. Level not filled in yet — rely on individual warnings and links below.
Photograph on Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
Plant habit
Safety — read before use
For this herb it is important to check warnings, mix-ups and cautions. Start with the Safety section.
Quick overview
A practical summary; details are in the sections below.
- Safety grade
- Caution details
- Scientific sources on the card
- Yes — sources are listed with claims Science section
- When and what to harvest
- Leaf — May–September
- Processing methods
Herbal infusion (tea), Culinary use
All methods and recipes on the card- Topics and symptoms
Fatigue and low energy
Topics section, Symptoms overview
Identification and mix-ups
Ovate to elliptic leaves; harvest follows local rules.
Possible mix-ups and risks
Ornamental hollies by cultivation purpose.
Similar herbs
- Tea plant
Two caffeinated leaf drinks of unrelated origin; mate is a holly with coarsely ground leaf and a smoky, bitter taste, tea the leaf of the tea plant. Caffeine per serving is comparable.
Topics and symptoms
More topics are in the symptoms and topics overview.
- Fatigue and low energyTraditional· Traditional / cultural framing
Geographic occurrence
Brazil
Occasional (garden, cultivation, or fringe of the range)
Harvest
- LeafMay–September
vegetace
Region: BrazilNotes: Leaves with thin twigs are cut in the southern Brazilian winter (May–September) from trees over four years old, sparingly so the tree regrows in two years; then they are flash-wilted over fire (sapeco), dried and aged in sacks for several months.
Storage
- Airtight storage(Leaf)
Dried erva keeps 12–24 months in an airtight container; green chimarrão (finely ground, unaged) loses freshness within months, Argentine yerba con palo lasts longer.
- Light:
- Out of light — it fades and loses flavour.
- Moisture:
- Moisture means mould; never a wet spoon in the bag.
Processing methods on this herb card
Infusion or brief extraction in hot water; usually without long boiling.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
In the narrow sense, "tea" often means an infusion: you pour water just off the boil over the dried plant matter and let it steep for a few minutes. Temperature, steep time, and the herb-to-water ratio change both flavour and what dissolves into the liquid.
Compared with a decoction, heat exposure is shorter and gentler; tender leaves and flowers are often better as an infusion than with prolonged simmering. For each herb, always follow the plant card for suitable plant part, preparation, and safety notes — general rules never replace species-level judgement.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Cooking, baking, seasoning as food — general category without therapeutic claims.
Full method description (from the catalogue)
Culinary use covers herbs as ingredients in dishes, drinks, or spice mixes. This overview does not evaluate medicinal effects — only reminds you about species intent, allergies, and heat treatment where needed (e.g. some fruits or plant parts).
Combining with alcohol, sugar, or long cooking changes outcomes; verify culinary sources.
Traditional context for this method: yes·Scientific context for this method: no
Traditional / spiritual use
Kept separate from science — entries are cultural or symbolic, not medical advice.
The moon goddess's gift and the circle of one gourd
Symbolism
Spiritual useMythologyRitualSymbolismIn Guaraní myth the moon goddess Yasy gave an old man the ka'a plant in return for his hospitality, so his people would have a drink of friendship and strength; hence the rite of one gourd circulating and everyone drinking from the same bombilla. The 17th-century Jesuit missions first banned mate as 'the devil's herb' and then made it their most profitable crop. A record of myth and social ritual, not effect.
- Form:
- sdílená cuia, dar bohyně měsíce v guaraníjském mýtu
- Claim strength:
- Tradition
- Source note:
- Guaraní mythology (Yasy and Ka'a Yary); history of the Jesuit reductions in Paraguay; South American chimarrão / mate cocido culture.
Scientific notes
Each claim lists a study type and a source (URL or DOI) where available. Dose notes from the literature are informational only.
How to read evidence strength and study type labels
Labels summarise how the catalogue entry is tagged — they are not a medical verdict on efficacy. For every row, read the summary, limitations and source link.
Evidence strength
- Evidence level not specified
- The author did not grade the record; judge from the summary, limitations and source link.
- Narrative / orientational literature
- Descriptive or expert literature without controlled group comparison — context rather than proof of effect.
- Weak evidence
- Study or conclusion with major methodological limits; treat only as a pointer for further reading.
- Preliminary findings
- First or smaller studies — interesting direction, not the final word on efficacy or safety.
- Moderate strength of evidence
- Moderate strength by study design; sample and context limits still apply.
- Stronger evidence
- Stronger design or consistency of results within the study's stated limits.
- Review article
- A review summarises multiple sources; quality depends on review method and field.
Study type
- Narrative / expert text
- Expert text or overview without a classical study design.
- In vitro study
- Cell culture or test-tube experiment — does not show an effect in the body.
- Animal study
- Animal model — transfer to humans is not automatic.
- Observational study
- Observing groups without random treatment assignment; confounding is possible.
- Clinical trial
- Human clinical trial; sample size and control group matter.
- Randomised controlled trial
- Randomised controlled trials are among the stronger designs when well conducted.
- Review study
- A review aggregates multiple papers — quality depends on selection rules.
- Systematic review
- Systematic review with explicit search and selection methodology.
- Meta-analysis
- Statistical pooling of studies; outcome depends on input data and heterogeneity.
- Regulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)
- Regulatory body summary for a herbal product — different context from a single RCT; often about products, not home tea.
- Expert monograph (herbal preparations)
- Structured literature summary for a plant or drug — quality depends on author and edition year.
The IARC Working Group (Monograph Vol. 116) placed drinking mate as such in Group 3 (not classifiable), while drinking very hot beverages above 65 °C went into Group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans) on the basis of associations with oesophageal cancer in South America, Iran and China.
Review articleRegulatory assessment / monograph (EMA, WHO…)Year: 2016Limitations: Epidemiological studies could not separate the effect of temperature from substances in mate; the conclusion concerns very hot drinking. It says nothing about mate's efficacy.
Loomis D, Guyton KZ, Grosse Y, et al. (IARC Monograph Working Group) — The Lancet Oncology
Carcinogenicity of drinking coffee, mate, and very hot beverages
The review summarises mate's composition (caffeine 1–2 %, chlorogenic acids, saponins) and laboratory and small human studies of antioxidant, lipid and metabolic effects; it also discusses the epidemiology of oesophageal cancer in hot-mate drinkers.
Narrative / orientational literatureReview studyYear: 2007Limitations: Mostly in vitro and small studies; the authors note the tension between the 'healthy' polyphenol profile and the epidemiology of hot drinking.
Heck CI, de Mejia EG — Journal of Food Science
Images
The main photo is in the card header. More images will appear here when available.
Safety
What the warning types mean
The type on each warning helps group themes — it does not replace the separate severity badge.
- Internal use
- Risks from swallowing, extracts, duration of use or concentration for internal use.
- Interactions / medicines
- Possible effect on medicines or concurrent treatment — check sources and a professional.
- Raw plant parts
- Raw, unripe or poorly prepared plant parts can be dangerous.
- Toxins and regulation
- Toxic constituents or regulated compounds (e.g. in distillates).
- Contact with the plant
- Skin or mucosa irritation from contact with fresh plant or sap.
- Allergy
- Allergic reactions, often linked to family sensitisation.
- Harvesting and contamination
- Contamination, species mix-ups or harvesting from unsuitable places.
- Very hot drinking and the oesophagusModerate severityInternal use
IARC (2016) classes drinking beverages hotter than 65 °C as a probable oesophageal carcinogen; traditional mate drunk near-boiling through a metal bombilla is exactly that case. Water around 70 °C removes the risk. Plus caffeine — it adds up with coffee.