Rooibos Tea Leaf
Medicinal use of Rooibos: Rooibos was traditionally used by the Bushmen and Hottentots of South Africa and is becoming increasingly popular in the West as a pleasant tasting tea that also has health benefits. A tea made from the leaves and stems of rooibos is generally beneficial to the digestive system and relaxes spasms, it has been used in the treatment of vomiting, diarrhoea and other mild gastric complaints. It has also been shown to be of benefit when used internally and externally in the treatment of a wide range of allergies especially milk allergy, eczema, hay fever and asthma in infants.
Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is an endemic South African plant. Rooibos tea, is known as the long-life tea in Africa. African women take rooibos during pregnancy to relieve heartburn and nausea; they take it for its iron content, and give it to their babies to relieve colic. It is consumed in “fermented” form. During this process, aspalathin rapidly declines in the flavones isoorientin and orientin. Aspalathin and its oxidation products may be further oxidized to form high-molecular-weight brown compounds via polymerization reactions causing reddish-brown color of rooibos. Rooibos is gaining acclaim for its taste and vitamin, mineral, antidiabetic activity, and antioxidant content. It has antispasmodic properties, prevents lipid peroxidation, restores the stress-induced protein degradation, regulates glutathione metabolism, and modulates changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes (Hong et al., 2014).