Ilex Teas

There are multiple kinds of Ilex teas around the world. It turns out most of them have anti-inflammatory properties. Some also have metabolic properties that help with lipid metabolism:

• I. latifolia — "bitter nail tea" kǔ dīng chá
  • Can reduce cholesterol.
• I. kaushue — "bitter nail tea" kǔdīng chá
• I. vomitoria — yaupon (Catawba), Aatichoosanàyli (Alabama), cassine/cassina/cassena (Timucua) — Found in USA: OK, AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, VA, TX; MX: Veracruz, Chiapas.
  • Very rich in flavonols.
  • High in Chlorogenic acid (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Highest in saponins, but lowest in methylxanthines (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Slightly less caffeine than I. paraguariensis (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Ursolic acid detected (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • In pre-Colombian times, this drink was so popular that residues of it have been detected through to Ohio, Colorado, and New Mexico. Even some of my distant relatives in Chiapas and Veracruz may have cultivated it, since there are isolated areas of it in those Mexican states (Crown et al. 2015).
  • According to CONABIO's EncicloVida, the natural range of this plant extends around the gulf coast. This is actually along an ancient prehispanic trade network that crossed both land and sea [though the evidence for this is lacking rigor, there are many indigenous stories that attest to this in both Mexico and the US].
    
  • About the "vomitoria" name: When colonizers arrived in the area, they observed the practice of drinking yaupon and then vomitting. They incorrectly assumed that it was the drink itself which was emitic. Because of this misconception, the plant was given its scientific name. It is quite likely the tribes which drank yapon and then vomitted had a similar practice to the Achuar, where men drink copious amounts of wayus (I. Guayusa decoction) in the morning before sunrise and then induce vomiting in order to not get sick from too much caffeine. Boys are tought to vomit before puberty so they can be ready for the daily wayus ceremony (Lewis et al. 1991). Additionally, it may have been politically motivated due to the threat it posed to the East India Company. William Aiton of the Royal Botanic Gardens was appointed by King George III to give the plant its scientific name in 1789, just 6 years after it was first perceived as a threat to profits (Stirn 2021).
  • If you do buy this, get it from Yaupon Brothers, since they give back to Orginal/Native peoples and distribute through a Native owned company. But you may also be able to find Native owned producers.
• I. cassine — dahoon (possibly from French: houx d'Ahon, a corruption of the word yaupon), ussie (Mvskoke) — Found in USA: AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, VA; MX: Veracruz; Honduras; Bahamas; Cuba; Puerto Rico.
  • Approx. 1/3 the Chlorogenic acid of I. vomitoria (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Approx. 1/2 the methylxanthines of I. vomitoria (Edwards & Bennett 2005).
  • Approx. 1/5 the caffeine I. vomitoria (Edwards & Bennett 2005).
  • Ursolic acid detected (Negrin et al. 2019).
• I. guayusa — guayusa (Spanish), waisa (Kichwa), wayus/wais (Shuar) — Found in Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. A bundle of leaves was found in a burial from around 500 CE, but far away in Bolivia.
  • High in Chlorogenic acid (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Lowest in saponins, highest in methylxanthines (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Highest in caffeine (order of magnitude more than I. paraguariensis (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Ursolic acid yield is 1/10 of I. paraguariensis (Wise & Negrin 2020; Gnoatto et al. 2008).
  • If you buy this, buy it through Waykana or Runa (part of Aliados). They seem to support their farmers and choose Original peoples to help. Really though, if you live in North America, you should be using a source of yaupon that gives back to Original peoples to minimize the environmental impact of your tea.
• I. paraguariensis — yerba mate (Spanish), ka'a (Guarani) — From Paraguay and originally cultivated by the Guarani and Tupi people, but, through colonization, production has expanded into Agentina and Brazil.
  • Modulates lipid metabolism. Acts a MAOI. High levels of polyphenols.
  • High in Chlorogenic acid (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Saponins and methylxanthines in between I. vomitoria and I. guayusa (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Slightly more caffeine than I. vomitoria (Negrin et al. 2019).
  • Ursolic acid yield is 10% (Gnoatto et al. 2008).
  • If you buy this, you should probably get Guayakí, since they seem to support local and Indigenous farmers from the original region of the plant. It would also be good to get familiar with feelings like those in Gabriela. (2017) Cultural appropriation of yerba mate. The Echo. 18 Nov. Because not everyone feels so great about it's commercialization.

More Reading

• Strin, Matt. (2021) It is North America's only known native caffeinated plant and once threatened the British East India Company. So why has the world forgotten about it? BBC Travel. 24 February. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210223-yaupon-the-rebirth-of-americas-forgotten-tea
• Folch, C. (2021). Ceremony, medicine, caffeinated Tea: Unearthing the forgotten faces of the North American stimulant yaupon (Ilex vomitoria). Comparative Studies in Society and History, 63(2), 464-498. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0010417521000116
• Wise, G., & Negrin, A. (2020). A critical review of the composition and history of safe use of guayusa: a stimulant and antioxidant novel food. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 60(14), 2393-2404. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2019.1643286
• Negrin, A., Long, C., Motley, T. J., & Kennelly, E. J. (2019). LC-MS metabolomics and chemotaxonomy of caffeine-containing holly (Ilex) species and related taxa in the aquifoliaceae. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 67(19), 5687-5699. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.8b07168
• King, A., Powis, T. G., Cheong, K. F., & Gaikwad, N. W. (2017). Cautionary tales on the identification of caffeinated beverages in North America. Journal of Archaeological Science, 85, 30-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2017.06.006
• García‐Ruiz, A., Baenas, N., Benítez‐González, A. M., Stinco, C. M., Meléndez‐Martínez, A. J., Moreno, D. A., & Ruales, J. (2017). Guayusa (Ilex guayusa L.) new tea: phenolic and carotenoid composition and antioxidant capacity. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 97(12), 3929-3936. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.8255 (LOL at the new tea part)
• Pardau, M. D., Pereira, A. S., Apostolides, Z., Serem, J. C., & Bester, M. J. (2017). Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Ilex guayusa tea preparations: a comparison to Camellia sinensis teas. Food & function, 8(12), 4601-4610. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7FO01067B
• Crown, P. L., Gu, J., Hurst, W. J., Ward, T. J., Bravenec, A. D., Ali, S., … & Woodson, K. (2015). Ritual drinks in the pre-Hispanic US Southwest and Mexican Northwest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(37), 11436-11442. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511799112
• Garsd, Jasmine. (2015) Tea Tuesdays: Gift Of The Moon, Bane Of The Spanish — The Story Of Yerba Mate. The Salt. NPR. 17 March. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/17/393355841/tea-tuesdays-south-america-runs-on-yerba-mate
  • What they leave out is how the Jesuits essentially economically disempowered the local tribes through biopiracy.
• Hao, D., Gu, X., Xiao, P., Liang, Z., Xu, L., & Peng, Y. (2013). Research progress in the phytochemistry and biology of Ilex pharmaceutical resources. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, 3(1), 8-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2012.12.008
• Crown, P. L., Emerson, T. E., Gu, J., Hurst, W. J., Pauketat, T. R., & Ward, T. (2012). Ritual black drink consumption at Cahokia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(35), 13944-13949. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1208404109
• Noratto, G. D., Kim, Y., Talcott, S. T., & Mertens-Talcott, S. U. (2011). Flavonol-rich fractions of yaupon holly leaves (Ilex vomitoria, Aquifoliaceae) induce microRNA-146a and have anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects in intestinal myofribroblast CCD-18Co cells. Fitoterapia, 82(4), 557-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2011.01.013
• Palumbo, M., Tushingham, S., Anderson, U., & McNutt, C. H. (2011). The Biomolecular Archaeology of the Black Drink: Alkaloid Residue Analysis of Ilex vomitoria on Experimental Vessels and Applications for Prehistoric Specimens. https://research.libraries.wsu.edu/xmlui/handle/2376/18312
• Palumbo, M. J., Talcott, S. T., & Putz, F. E. (2009). Ilex vomitoria ait.(yaupon): A native north American source of a caffeinated and antioxidant-rich tea. Economic botany, 63, 130-137. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225473170_Ilex_Vomitoria_Ait_Yaupon_A_Native_North_American_Source_of_a_Caffeinated_and_Antioxidant-Rich_Tea
• Gnoatto, S. C., Dassonville-Klimpt, A., Da Nascimento, S., Galéra, P., Boumediene, K., Gosmann, G., … & Moslemi, S. (2008). Evaluation of ursolic acid isolated from Ilex paraguariensis and derivatives on aromatase inhibition. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 43(9), 1865-1877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2007.11.021
  • Yerba mate has 10% ursolic acid yield in 70% EtOH!
• Edwards, A. L., & Bennett, B. C. (2005). Diversity of Methylxanthine Content in Ilex cassine L. and Ilex vomitoria Ait.: Assessing Sources of the North American Stimulant Cassina. Economic Botany, 59(3), 275–285. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4256992
• Lewis, W. H., Kennelly, E. J., Bass, G. N., Wedner, H. J., & Elvin-Lewis, M. P. (1991). Ritualistic use of the holly Ilex guayusa by Amazonian Jivaro Indians. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 33(1-2), 25-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(91)90156-8
  • The Achuar are a sub group of the "Jivaro", a term which has fallen into disuse because it is considered pejorative. However, the classification of the Jivaroan peoples includes the Shuar, Achuar, Humabisa, and Aguaruna.