Advanced Glycation End-Products Promote Lipogenesis in Liver of Fructose-Drinking Mice

Abstract

Rooibos: Effect on Iron Status of South African Adults at Risk for Coronary Heart Disease Jeanine L Marnewick, Irma Venter, Fanie Rautenbach, Henry Neethling, and Maritha Kotze Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa University of Stellenbosch, South Africa Gknowmix (Pty) Ltd, South Africa The effect of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) herbal tea (also referred to as “red tea”) consumption on the iron status of asymptomatic adults at an intermediate to high risk for developing coronary heart disease was a secondary objective of a recent clinical study. Rooibos is an infusion/tisane made from the dried, fermented leaves and stems of Aspalathus linearis (Brum.f) Dahlg. (Family Fabaceae; tribe Crotalarieae), a legume indigenous to the Cedarberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa. Traditional/fermented rooibos (“red tea”) is different from black, green and oolong teas made from Camellia sinensis, in that it contains different and unique polyphenolic constituents. Rooibos does not contain caffeine and is considered to have a low tannin content when compared to C. sinensis teas. To date very few studies have reported on the effect of rooibos on markers of iron status in humans. After consuming 6 cups of rooibos daily for 6 weeks, serum iron, ferritin, transferrin, TIBC and percentage Fe saturation were determined to assess the iron status of the participants (n=40) aged 30-60 yrs. Dietary intake was calculated with the use of estimated dietary records completed during the study periods. No significant (P>0.05) changes in these biochemical parameters were recorded after completion of the rooibos and control study periods. It was concluded that, for this study, when taking into account the iron status, habitual dietary composition and genetic variation in the HFE gene affecting iron absorption, the intake of rooibos did not have an adverse effect on the participants’ resultant iron status at the end of the intervention study period. The results from this study population agree with previous findings where the study populations differed, i.e. South African students (6-15 yrs) and apparently healthy young men (21-34 yrs) and does therefore not make it unreasonable to suggest that rooibos, in the South African context, does not have an adverse effect on markers of iron status. Long-term studies are needed to further investigate the relationship between rooibos consumption and iron status in various South African populations.