Healthy and adjuvant-induced arthritic rats were treated for 23 days with daily doses of 400 and 800 mg
kg−1 Ilex paraguariensis extract. This treatment (a) diminished the ROS levels in the liver and brain, (b)
decreased oxidative protein and lipid damage in liver and brain, (c) increased the plasma antioxidant
capacity, (d) increased the GSH levels and the GSH/GSSH ratio in both the liver and the brain, (e) almost
restored the enzymatic activities linked to the metabolism of GSH–GSSG, and (f ) reversed the modified
activities of xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase. The anti-inflammatory actions (firstly)
and the antioxidant actions (in the second place) of the yerba mate constituents (e.g., chlorogenic acid
derivatives) are the causes of these beneficial effects. Daily ingestion of traditional yerba mate beverages
may be effective in attenuating the symptoms of inflammatory diseases, especially in older adults.This work was financially supported by grants from the
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e
Tecnológico (CNPq-307944/2015-8), Coordenação do
Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES) and
Fundação Araucária. The authors are also indebted to Jailson
Araújo Dantas for his technical assistance and to Dr Ciomar
A. B. Amado for facilitating access to equipment of the
Pharmacology and Therapeutics Department of the State
University of Maringá. The authors are also grateful to the
Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and
FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to
CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and L. Barros contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
