Rooibos Tea Research Update
Modulation of hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes and oxidative status by rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) and Honeybush (Cyclopia intermedia), green and black (Camellia sinensis) teas in rats.
J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Dec 31;51(27):8113-9.
Rooibos and honeybush teas significantly enhanced the activity of cytosolic glutathione S-transferase alpha. A significant to marginal increase in the activity of the microsomal UDP-glucuronosyl transferase was obtained with unprocessed rooibos and honeybush teas, respectively. Oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels were significantly reduced in the liver of all tea treated rats while reduced glutathione (GSH) was markedly increased in the liver of the herbal tea treated rats. These changes resulted in a significant increase in the GSH/GSSG ratio by the unprocessed, processed rooibos and unprocessed honeybush teas. Green and black teas markedly to significantly decreased the oxygen radical absorbance capacity in liver homogenates, respectively. Modulation of phase II drug metabolizing enzymes and oxidative status in the liver may be important events in the protection against adverse effects related to mutagenesis and oxidative damage.

Unfermented rooibos tea: quantitative characterization of flavonoids by HPLC-UV and determination of the total antioxidant activity.
J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Dec 3;51(25):7472-4.
Unfermented rooibos originates from the leaves and the stems of the indigenous South African plant, Aspalathus linearis, and it has been reported to have a higher content of flavonoids compared to that of fermented rooibos. Main compounds determined were aspalathin, isoorientin, orientin, and rutin, followed in order by isovitexin, vitexin, isoquercitrin and hyperoside, quercetin, luteolin and chrysoeryol.

Hepatoprotective effect of rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) on CCl4-induced liver damage in rats.
Physiol Res. 2003;52(4):461-6.
Hepatoprotective properties of rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) were investigated in a rat model of liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)). Rooibos tea, like N-acetyl-L-cysteine which was used for the comparison, showed histological regression of steatosis and cirrhosis in the liver tissue with a significant inhibition of the increase of liver tissue concentrations of malondialdehyde, triacylglycerols and cholesterol. Simultaneously, rooibos tea significantly suppressed mainly the increase in plasma activities of aminotransferases (ALT, AST), alkaline phosphatase and billirubin concentrations, which are considered as markers of liver functional state. The antifibrotic effect in the experimental model of hepatic cirrhosis of rats suggests the use of rooibos tea as a plant hepatoprotector in the diet of patients with hepatopathies.

Effects of rooibos tea extract on antigen-specific antibody production and cytokine generation in vitro and in vivo.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2001 Oct;65(10):2137-45.
Rooibos tea contains a large amount of flavonoids and acts as a potent antioxidant. In this study, we examined the effects of Rooibos tea extract on antigen-specific antibody production and cytokine generation in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggested that Rooibos tea extract may facilitate the antigen-specific antibody production through selective augmentation of IL-2 generation both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, Rooibos tea intake may be of value in prophylaxis of the diseases involving a severe defect in Th1 immune response such as cancer, allergy, AIDS, and other infections.

Anti-human immunodeficiency virus activity of oligosaccharides from rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) extracts in vitro.
Leukemia. 1997 Apr;11 Suppl 3:128-30.
The active substances, acid polysaccharides, were extracted with 1% sodium hydroxide from the leaves of rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis), Du Zhong Cha (Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.) and Japanese tea leaves (Camellia sinensis). The alkaline extracts of Rooibos tea and Du-Zhong tea leaves, but not Japanese tea leaves suppressed the HIV-induced cytopathicity using HIV (HTLV-III) infected MT-4 cells. From these results, it is probable that acid polysaccharides from rooibos tea were extremely safe, and that HIV infection may be suppressed by daily intake of the alkaline extracts of rooibos tea and Du-Zhong tea.

The suppression of age-related accumulation of lipid peroxides in rat brain by administration of Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis).
Neurosci Lett. 1995 Aug 18;196(1-2):85-8.
The protective effects of Rooibos tea, Aspalathus linearis, against damage to the central nervous system (CNS) accompanying aging were examined by both the thiobarbituric acid reaction (TBA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods in brains of chronically Rooibos tea-treated rats. Ad libitum administration of Rooibos tea was begun with 3-month-old Wistar female rats and continued for 21 months. The contents of TBA reactive substances (TBARS) in the frontal cortex, occipital cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum in 24-month-old rats after administration with water were significantly higher than those in young rats (5 weeks old). However, no significant increase of TBARS was observed in Rooibos tea-administered aged rats. When MR images of the brains of 24-month-old rats with and without Rooibos tea as well as 5-week-old rats were taken, a decrease of the signal intensity was observed in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum in MR images of aged rats without Rooibos tea, whereas little change of the signal intensity was observed in MR images of the same regions of 24-month-old rats treated with Rooibos tea, whose images were similar to those of young rats. These observations suggested that (1) the age-related accumulation of lipid peroxides in the brain was closely related to the morphological changes observed by MRI, and (2) chronic Rooibos tea-administration prevented age-related accumulation of lipid peroxides in several regions of rat brain. Whether drinking rooibos tea regularly enhances longevity in humans is not known.

Brief History of Rooibos plant
Rooibos has been drank as a traditional beverage in South Africa by the indigenous peoples for millennia. The name rooibos means red bush, a word given by the Dutch Afrikaaners to the plant, whose leaves turn a reddish color upon drying and fermentation. Rooibos tea has been marketed in the United States since at least the early 1960s when Worthington Foods introduced a beverage named Kaffree containing the rooibos plant.

Johannesburg, Nov 2006- A South African woman, who claims to be the world's oldest living person at 132, advocates fresh food and exercise as the keys to longevity. Moloko Temo holds an identity card from the South African government confirming her birth on July 4, 1874, but international authorities have not verified her age and The Guinness Book of Records gives the title of oldest person to a French woman who died aged 122 and 164 days in 1997. For Moloko Temo, breakfast consists of warm, fresh baked bread, sometimes with a pat of margarine, and herbal rooibus tea. Lunch and dinner is a vegetarian meal of maize, a starchy thin porridge, drenched in fresh milk. She also recommends as a side dish morogo, a leafy African vegetable high in protein and vitamins. Her advise to staying healthy is to "eat (natural foods) and exercise every day."

Rooibos tea emails
Q. I enjoy reading your newsletter and was particularly interested in your discussion on teas. You didn't mention a tea that I have been told about - it's called rooibos tea red bush and it is supposed to have multiple healing properties when taken regularly. The tea is from Africa and is supposed to have "x" (25, 50) times the amount of antioxidents that green tea has. If the benefits are really there, it would be nice to spread the word. Conversely, if the claims are false, we might be better off trying something else and save our money. Thanks.
   A. We will update this page on rooibos as more research is published.

Q. I am trying to get the truth on receiving the health benifits from rooibos tea. I have been told by a wholesaler that is necessary to boil the tea for it to produce it's health benifits. Do you know if this is true?
   A. I don't know for sure what kind of difference boiling makes, but the longer a leaf or tea is brewed, the more of the ingredients in the herb are seeped into the water. In many cases hot water facilitates the seeping of the chemicals in an herb into the water.

Q. I write for a healthmagazine and we are doing a roundup of workout energy drinks and we mentioned a product called ReddRox. The ReddRox product includes an ingredient called rooibos and we’d like to get an expert’s take on it. Can you please confirm that rooibos can increase your stamina if you drink it before a workout?
   A. Rooibos is a plant popular in tea form. A June 2009 Medline search did not reveal any human studies that have evaluated rooibos tea in terms of athletic performance or endurance. At this time there is no reason to suspect rooibos tea would have a stamina boost superior to that of other teas.

Q. Does rooibos provide electrolytes and minerals, such as sodium, potassium and magnesium, all which you lose through sweat.
   A. I find it difficult to accept this claim. Rooibos is a tea that can provide antioxidants and is a healthy addition to one's tea consumption, but it is premature to make fantastic claims about this tea. There are countless herbs and teas that have health benefits.

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