Red Tea
Alternate Names/Related Terms
Rooibos, or red tea, is a plant native to the Cape Town region of South Africa. Long used as a beverage tea, it was popularized as a medicinal herb in the late 1960s by a woman named Annique Theron, who claimed that it could help relieve colic and other infant-related problems. Since then, it has been advocated for a wide variety of additional conditions, including stomach distress (dyspepsia), allergies, warts, eczema, anxiety, insomnia and minor injuries.
The tea is harvested during the summer. It is green when picked, but becomes red during a fermentation process similar to that used for making black tea.
What Is Red Tea Used for Today?
Rooibos tea is marketed as a treatment for a wide variety of conditions, including all those mentioned above. However, no proposed uses of this herb have
any
meaningful supporting scientific evidence.
Like other forms of tea, red tea contains
antioxidant
substances in the phenol family.
1-4
This alone is the basis for many of the health claims attached to it. However, innumerable substances contain antioxidants; furthermore, the theory that antioxidants provide widespread health benefits has, in recent years, largely collapsed.
However, all of this evidence remains far too weak to be relied upon at all. In general, only
double-blind, placebo-controlled studies
can prove that a treatment is effective. Test tube studies are at the opposite end of the spectrum; they are useful as basic research, but the overwhelming majority of potential benefits seen in the test tube do not pan out in human trials. Therefore, at present, while rooibos may be a pleasant beverage tea, any medicinal claims attached to it are without scientific foundation.
Dosage
Rooibos tea is made by steeping one teaspoon, or one tea bag, of the herb in a cup of water.
Safety Issues
As a widely used beverage tea, roobios is presumed to be safe. It does not contain caffeine. Maximum safe doses in pregnant or nursing women, young children, or those with severe liver or kidney disease has not been determined.
References
1
Joubert E, Winterton P, Britz TJ et al. Antioxidant and pro-oxidant activities of aqueous extracts and crude polyphenolic fractions of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis).
J Agric Food Chem
. 2005;53:10260-7.
2
Ulicna O, Vancova O, Bozek P et al. Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) partially prevents oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Physiol Res.
2006;55:157-64.
3
Kucharska J, Ulicna O, Gvozdjakova A et al. Regeneration of coenzyme Q9 redox state and inhibition of oxidative stress by Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) administration in carbon tetrachloride liver damage.
Physiol Res.
2004;53:515-21.
4
Bramati L, Aquilano F, Pietta P. Unfermented rooibos tea: quantitative characterization of flavonoids by
J Agric Food Chem
. 2003;51:7472-4.
5
Persson IA, Josefsson M, Persson K et al. Tea flavanols inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and increase nitric oxide production in human endothelial cells. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2006;58:1139-44.
6
Kucharska J, Ulicna O, Gvozdjakova A et al. Regeneration of coenzyme Q9 redox state and inhibition of oxidative stress by Rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) administration in carbon tetrachloride liver damage.
Physiol Res
. 2004;53:515-21.
7
Ulicna O, Greksak M, Vancova O et al. Hepatoprotective effect of rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) on CCl4-induced liver damage in rats.
Physiol Res
. 2003;52:461-6.
8
Nakano M, Nakashima H, Itoh Y. Anti-human immunodeficiency virus activity of oligosaccharides from rooibos tea (Aspalathus linearis) extracts in vitro.
Leukemia.
1997;11 Suppl 3:128-30.
9
Nakano M, Itoh Y, Mizuno T et al. Polysaccharide from Aspalathus linearis with strong anti-HIV activity.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem
. 1997;61:267-71.
10
Komatsu K, Kator K, Mitsuda Y et al. Inhibitory effects of Rooibos tea, Aspalathus linealis, on X-ray-induced C3H10T1/2 cell transformation.
Cancer Lett.
1994;77:33-8.