So is the Rooibos
Rooibos is a drink obtained by infusing the dried leaves of Aspalathus linearis, a South African shrub plant, belonging to the Fabaceae family and typical of the Cederberg region.
In the local language (Afrikaans), the term rooibos means red bush, underlining the vermilion color of the drink. For this characteristic, and for the similar methods of preparation, rooibos is also known in the West as African red tea. Although this term is improper - given the different botanical origin - the two drinks share different characteristics. First of all, the preparation methods (infusion of dried and chopped leaves), but also the flavor and different nutraceutical properties.
The modest content of tannins and the absence of caffeine (theine) give rooibos a pleasant, slightly sweet and in any case less bitter taste than green tea and black tea. This characteristic, together with the moderate antioxidant content, is decreeing an important commercial success of the drink, whose diffusion is also increasing significantly in Italy.
Differences between the various types of tea
Characterizing active ingredients
The most important active ingredient for the health applications of rooibos seems to be aspalanthin, a type of flavonoid in a glucosidic form.
Its concentrations are higher in the unfermented leaves (about 10%), while they drop significantly with the fermentation processes (0.10%).
In addition to aspalanthin, other active ingredients of health interest are notophagin and aspalaline (both structurally related to aspalanthin), various other flavonoids (rutin, isoquercitin, vitexin, isovitexin) and phenolic acids (caffeic acid, ferulic acid).
Indications
Why is rooibos used? What is it for?
In South Africa, rooibos is traditionally used as a thirst-quenching drink, prepared in the same way as tea and possibly sweetened with sugar or honey, and / or corrected with lemon or milk.
Recently, the custom of serving concentrated rooibos has spread in local bars, in the quantities and methods reminiscent of those of espresso coffee.
In the West, the use as a substitute for tea from Camelia sinensis it is also favored by the alleged health implications attributed to the regular consumption of rooibos.
Rooibos tea online
Buy on AmazonThis Rooibos red tea is available online, deriving from organic farming from a plantation in South Africa.
The rooibos, "red shrub" (Latin name: Aspalathus Linearis), is a plant that grows exclusively in South Africa in the Cedarberg Mountains. It is often called red tea, although it has nothing to do with the tea tree (Camelia Sinensis). The recent interest in rooibos stems from the fact that it does not contain caffeine and is rich in antioxidants.
Rooibos tea can be enjoyed hot or cold, with ice. Its quality is visible from the color of its infusion. The redder the tea, the better its quality.
The tea retains its sweet taste even after a long period of infusion due to its low level of tannins and does not develop any bitter aftertaste. Thanks to the lack of theine, it is possible to drink Rooibos at any time of the day
To prepare it, just leave it to infuse for 7-10 minutes in boiling water.
Known as Redbush in the UK, rooibos is a deep red brew with a delicate fruity flavor and a refreshing herbal texture.
This rooibos is naturally caffeine-free and entirely organic, imported from selected suppliers in South Africa to ensure the highest quality.
While rooibos pairs beautifully with fruity, nutty and herbal flavors, this specific brew is pure organic rooibos with no added flavorings.
Its delicate aroma and the absence of caffeine make it the perfect infusion to be enjoyed in the evening, to relax after a long day.
Benefits and Properties
What benefit has rooibos shown during the studies?
Like many other herbal preparations used in folk medicine, the therapeutic uses and alleged health benefits deriving from the consumption of African red tea are mainly based on folkloric aspects, rather than on real scientific evidence.
The marketing campaigns, for their part, magnify its antioxidant virtues and its beneficial effect in cases of insomnia, heart disease, hypertension, agitation, asthma, dermatitis, headaches, liver poisoning and mild depression.
Many of these properties have emerged from in vitro studies, while in vivo studies - however small in number - have significantly reduced their real scope. This seems to be due to the poor bioavailability of the active ingredients contained in the drink.
Among the various effects studied, there seems to be greater evidence in support of a beneficial effect for patients at high cardiovascular risk, in which the intake of rooibos could produce some benefit in normalizing blood lipids (reduction of cholesterol and triglycerides, if elevated). and glycemic values (if high, naturally by taking sugar-free rooibos), and in preventing lipid peroxidation (useful against atherosclerosis).
Finally, we would like to point out that, according to comparative studies, the antioxidant activity of African red tea appears significantly lower than that exhibited by green tea, even when the latter is taken at lower doses.
Dosage and method of use
How to use rooibos
After harvesting, the needle-like red leaves and parts of the stems can be bruised and fermented before the next drying phase, or dried directly without fermenting them.
The infusion obtained from the NON fermented drug maintains a greenish color and is therefore known as green rooibos.
During fermentation, the color of the drug changes from green to red, due to the oxidation of the polyphenols; consequently, the infusion of the fermented drug gives rise to a brownish-red drink, known as red rooibos.
As anticipated, the antioxidant content is significantly higher in the green rooibos than in the red one, due to the chemical and enzymatic modifications incurred during the fermentation process.
The preparation of the drink takes place like that of tea, using an infuser or the special bags.
Although there is no standard recommended intake level, the daily intake of the infusion obtained with 750-3000 mg of dried leaves, preferably distributed throughout the day, may be optimal.
Side effects
Currently there are no significant side effects attributable to the intake of rooibos.
Contraindications
When should rooibos not be used?
The consumption of rooibos is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to the active substance.
Pharmacological interactions
What drugs or foods can modify the effect of rooibos?
Consumption of red rooibos in conjunction with iron supplements may slightly reduce intestinal absorption of the mineral. This undesirable effect, by virtue of the modest content of tannins, appears significantly lower than that attributed to black tea.
The consumption of rooibos would also appear to increase the activity of cytochrome CYP3A, reducing the metabolic activity of drugs metabolised by this cytochrome, such as midazolam.
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