Susan, I am responding to your question about Mate tea,

"Anyone from South America on line?  I have a question about a substance
called "matte."  I hope I have spelled it correctly.  A lot of my
clients are from Argentina and they all drink a  "tea" (either store
bought or they make it from the herb themselves.)  An
Argentinian-Israeli midwife brought me a sample yesterday.  She swears
it is calming and is an excellent galactagogue.  I made a cup and can't
figure out what it is, either by taste or smell.  The name mate or matte
doesn't appear in any of my books on herbals.  Does anyone know what the
Latin name of this plant is or have any information about it?  I've had
at least 5 or 6 questions lately and I'm really curious!"

In 1996 I had a client from South America, I forget now which country, but I
was fascinated to see that the baby slept in the middle of a large hammock
strung diagonally from corner to corner of the parents bedroom.  ANyway, the
mom drank mate' tea.  She also gave some to a friend of hers, another of my
clients, who said that it really worked to increase her breastmilk supply,
but wanted to know the implications for herself and the baby, and gave me a
little sample of it (I still have it in my file, it looks like marijuana,
actually!). I consulted my clinical pharmacology friend, Dr Douglas Ball, at
the university here, about the effect on breastmilk and safety for the baby.
Here is his professional opinion: (the apostrophe is a substitute for an
accent, which I can't seem to find on my keyboard!)

"Mate' "tea" is widely consumed in central and Southern America and there is
a fair amount of information on it.  This is just as well since we do not
really have the facilities to analyse it (well, it could be in the Dept of
Pharmacy, but would take a year or more and would be costly).

"Mate' is produced from the dried and minced leaves of Ilex paraguariensis
(Aquifoliaceae - the holly family).  Judging by the sample you sent, stem
and bark may also be used.  Some of the constituents of the leaves have been
isolated.  Without going into too much chemistry, they include:  purines
(especially caffeine which can reach high cencentrations), polyphenols,
terpenes and saponins.  Many minerals are also present with potassium,
magnesium and manganese of particularly hgh content.  Other species of Ilex
contain digitalis-like cardiac glycosides and it is possible these might be
present in the Ilex species used to prepare mate'.  Mate' is usually
consumed because of its stimulating properties probably related to its
caffeine content.  I found no reference to its use as a galactogogue.

"Regarding potential toxicity.  I agree with you that herbal teas should be
treated with suspicion until more is known about them.  Mate' is perhaps a
case in point.  Apart from the effects that caffeine or other constituents
may have directly on the mother or breastfed infant, mate' consumption has
been associated with an increased risk of cancer of the gastrointestinal
tract and bladder.  I do not have access to the original papers on this, but
it seems to hold true in spite of other confounding factors such as smoking,
alcohol consumption etc.  While it may be that the association only exists
in persons who consume mate' on a chronic basis with high consumption
levels, I believe your patient should be contacted and informed of the risk
to herself and possibly to the infant.  I should imagine that since she is
not a chronic consumer and other environmental factors which affect the
study populations do not hold true here, that the risk at present is
minimal.  I suggest she refrain from taking the mate' tea.

"Ilex paraguariensis does not grow naturally in Zimbabwe.  There is only one
close relation, Ilex mitis (African holly) which can be found growing along
river banks, in stream beds and in moist evergreen forests in the Eastern
Highlands.  Apparently the berries are edible (by birds), the leaves are
rich in saponins and are sometimes used as a soap, and the bark can be used
as a purgative (often a sign of toxicity in high doses).  There is no
mention of a use to enhance lactation or as stimulating herbal beverage.

"I am a little concerned that you were told that the plant belongs to the
"rice family" which is more grass-like than woody.  However, if it is
typical South American mate' then it is Ilex-derived and the information is
correct.  In summary, mate' s a caffeine-containing beverage also containing
other chemicals and mate-consumption is associated with a higher risk of
certain cancers.  Its consumption should be discouraged."

I hope this helps.

Pamela Morrison IBCLC, Zimbabwe (whose bias about herbal remedies is now
known, but is cautious since the single largest cause of poisoning in this
country is from "traditional" herbal concoctions!)
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