Efeitos biológicos do fitoterápico ilex paraguariensis (chá mate) no controle da obesidade

Abstract

The interest and adherence of people to the branches of alternative medicine is increasingly notorious, both to prevent and as a way of treating pathologies. On a global scale, obesity has reached epidemic proportions, being one of the main contributors to the high prevalence of chronic diseases and disabilities today. This research is a bibliographic review, which aims to gather what has been described in recent years about the herbal medicine Ilex Paraguariensis and its action on weight loss. In vitro and in vivo studies attest that Ilex has antioxidant effects, preventing DNA oxidation and LDL lipoperoxidation, hypocholesterolemic, hepatoprotective and diuretic effects. In rats fed high-fat diets, ilex paraguariensis extract significantly decreased body weight, visceral fat, and blood levels of lipids, as well as serum insulin, glucose, and leptin. Of the articles read, only 4 showed a reduction in body weight after the introduction of yerba mate. There are numerous studies that seek to explain the action of herbal medicines on weight loss, as is the case of ilex paraguariensis, much is already known about it, however, the scientific community through research shows that its consumption cannot be done too much, which can cause damage to health, thus concluding that the mechanisms of action still need to be elucidated, by which these products act and that there is insufficient evidence to use it in the treatment of obesity.