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Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Processing and Extraction: Retention of Bioactive Compounds

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Abstract

Ilex paraguariensis is a native tree from South America known for the presence of bioactive compounds, and its processed leaves are consumed as hot and cold infusions. After harvest (step 1), the leaves are subjected to flame blanching to inactive the enzymes (step 2), followed by drying and milling (step 3). The impacts of I. paraguariensis processing on leaf composition were investigated by extracting the major compounds (chlorogenic and isochlorogenic acids (3-CQA, 4-CQA, 5-CQA, 3,4-DQA, 3,5-DQA and 4,5-DQA), p-coumaric acid, caffeine and rutin) using different ratios of ethanol and water as extraction solvent (EW 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25 (w/w)). The solvent ratio of EW 50:50 was more effective in extracting the chlorogenic acids isomers, with retention of chlorogenic acids of 3463, 9485, and 9516 µg mL− 1 for steps 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Rutin and p-coumaric acid exhibited similar behavior with the increment of processing steps; however, p-coumaric acid was only detected in steps 2 and 3 for the solvent ratios EW 50:50 and 25:50. The caffeine extraction from I. paraguariensis varied from 936 to 1170 µg mL− 1 for all processing steps, with emphasis on its concentration extracted in step 1. The evolution of processing steps led to a higher retention of phenolic compounds from I. paraguariensis, which was not observed when using different solvent ratios, and the solvent ratio EW 50:50 was more effective for the extraction of chlorogenic acids. The successful extraction of chlorogenic acids from I. paraguariensis in this study proved to be a promising alternative for the use of yerba mate beyond the cuia cup.

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Data Availability

The datasets of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS) grant # PES-2021-0196, and Fundação Araucaria for scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engenharia de Alimentos, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS), Laranjeiras do Sul, Paraná, 85301970, Brazil

    David Fernando dos Santos, Edlaine Costa, André Martins, Alexia Flavia França Vieira, Gustavo Henrique Fidelis dos Santos, Cátia Tavares dos Passos Francisco & Vânia Zanella Pinto

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química Aplicada, Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste (Unicentro), Guarapuava, Paraná, 85.040-080, Brazil

    Vandressa Alves

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  1. David Fernando dos Santos
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  8. Vânia Zanella Pinto
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Contributions

David Fernando dos Santos and Vania Zanella Pinto contributed to the study conception and design; Material preparation and formal analysis were performed by David Fernando dos Santos, Edlaine Costa, André Martins and Alexia Flavia França Vieira; Data analysis were performed by David Fernando dos Santos, Vandressa Alves, Cátia Tavares dos Passos Francisco and Gustavo Henrique Fidelis dos Santos; Funding acquisition and project administration by Vânia Zanella Pinto and Gustavo Henrique Fidelis dos Santos; The first draft of the manuscript were written by David Fernando dos Santos, Vandressa Alves, Edlaine Costa, and Vânia Zanella Pinto. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vânia Zanella Pinto.

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dos Santos, D.F., Alves, V., Costa, E. et al. Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Processing and Extraction: Retention of Bioactive Compounds. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 78, 526–532 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-023-01082-6

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