Phenolic compounds in seven South American Ilex species

Ilex paraguariensis (common name: 'mate' or 'yerba mate') is used for the preparation of the most popular tea-like beverage of South America. Choleretic, hypocholesteremic, antioxidant, hepatoprotective and bitter taste properties of mate are attributed to the phenolic constituents of the leaves. L paraguariensis has seven local congeneric substitutes or adulterants: L brevicuspis; I. theezans; I. microdonta; I. dumosa var. dumosa; L taubertiana; L pseudobuxus; I. integerrima; and L argentina. An HPLC method using UV with Photodiode Array Detector was developed for the identification and quantification of caffeoyl derivatives (caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid) and flavonoids (quercetin, rutin and kaempferol) in these species. I. paraguariensis showed a higher content of flavonoids and caffeoyl derivatives than the other assayed species. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.