The Brunswick Labs Beat Ingredient Corner spotlight today is
on Sideritis, or Greek Mountain Tea. Heard of it? It’s an important beverage in
some parts of the world – well, such as Greece. Here’s a great Brunswick Labs
look at what it is and how it works. Enjoy!
The dried inflorescences of several Sideritis L. (Lamiaceae)
species, especially Sideritis scardica Griseb. and Sideritis raeseri Boiss. Et
Heldr., are used in Greece and the other Balkan countries to prepare a
traditional beverage, an herbal infusion most commonly known as Greek Mountain
Tea.1 The common name for Sideritis plants in the US is ironwort. Depending on
the country of origin and the mountain where the plants grow, Greek Mountain
Tea is also known as Shepherds Tea or Olympus Tea (Greece), Malotira (Crete),
Pirin tea or Mursalski tea (Bulgaria), or Sharplaninski chaj (Macedonia).
“Greek Mountain Tea (Sideritis) grows wild throughout Greece
typically at elevations of 3000 feet or more above sea level and is also
cultivated in small plots within the high elevations of the mountain regions”
according to Steve Raftopoulos, the founder of Klio Tea – a major US based
importer of Greek herbal teas. Greek Mountain Tea has a profound effect on
Greek culture and tradition; the Greeks refer to it as the Tea of Gods or the
Tea of the Titans. In Greek mythology, the Titans were powerful deities who
lived on Mount Othrys and ruled the world before the Olympians. In reality, the
consumption of Greek Mountain Tea dates back to ancient civilization in Greece.
“Herbs play a significant role in the Greek/Mediterranean diet, both in
culinary form and as herbal teas” says Raftopoulos. ”The unique growing
environment of Greece’s mountains uniquely favors herbs and results in herbs of
distinctive quality”, he adds.
The Sideritis genus consists of 150 species which are
widespread in the Mediterranean region.2 S. scardica is endemic to the Balkan
peninsula and was originally discovered on the Shara Mountain in Macedonia.
Today, its growth is largely restricted to the Central Balkan Peninsula:
throughout mainland Greece and many Greek islands, southwestern Albania,
southern Bulgaria, and northern Turkey.1 Both S. scardica and S. raeseri are
perennial herbaceous plants with a woody base and a well-developed root system.
They grow in crevices of limestone rocks, on eroded soil and in dry, exposed,
high-altitude locations. The plants grow between 15 and 40 cm high and are
characterized by flowers clustered in a dense spike.
Photo - Farm Bioma
Functional components. The presence of many functional
components has been confirmed in the extracts and essential oils prepared from
Sideritis species; including terpenoids, phenolic compounds (flavonoids and
phenolic acids) and their derivatives. S. scardica essential oils are
especially rich in monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and diterpens, and their composition
depends on ecological conditions, as well as the source of plant material –
wild growing versus cultivated plants.1
The total phenol (TP) analysis performed recently at
Brunswick Labs resulted in the TP content of 13.60 mg/oz for S. raeseri tea
brewed in water. Interestingly, its total bioflavonoid (TBF) content (6.51
mg/oz) was determined to be more than two times greater than the TBF content of
chamomile tea (2.55 mg/oz), and comparable to the TBF content of sea buckthorn
leaf tea (5.94 mg/oz). In a more detailed analysis of individual phenolic acid
and flavonoid constituents, the following compounds were detected in S. raeseri
tea in appreciable quantities: apigenin, quercetin, kaempherol, and caffeic and
chlorogenic acids.
Biological activity. A range of biological effects has
been attributed to Sideritis extracts and preparations in multiple research
studies, such as antioxidant,3 oxidative stress reduction,4 antimicrobial,5,6 anti-inflammatory,6,7
and gastroprotective activities.7 In ethnobotanical practices, Greek mountain
tea has been used to alleviate gastrointestinal problems, inflammation, as well
as common cold and cough symptoms.1 S. scardica has also been identified as an
active constituent of dietary supplements used in prevention of anemia.8 A
recent study shows that S. scardica tea is as potent as Camellia sinenesis tea
at inducing cellular antioxidant defense and preventing oxidative stress.4 The
antioxidant and oxidative stress reduction activities of Sideritis species
correlate well with the content of phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids
and their derivatives.3 Brunswick Labs recently determined the ORAC 5.0 assay
score for S. raeseri to be 739 µmol TE/oz dw, or 21.6 µmol/ml of brewed tea.
When expressed per serving, the ORAC
5.0 values for brewed tea ranged from 6900-7400 µmol TE/per serving.
Both anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective activities of S.
scardica extracts were observed in vivo, in a study published in 2012 in Planta
Medica.7 The observed anti-inflammatory effect of S. scardica ethyl ether
extract was dose-dependent and confirmed in a rat model. In the same study, the
n-butanol extract of S. scardica exhibited the most prominent gastroprotective
activity against ethanol-induced acute stress ulcer in rats.
In a different study, the same group of authors evaluated
anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity of S. scardica extracts and
observed significant anti-inflammatory effects.6 The antimicrobial activity was
evaluated using five strains of microorganisms, including Staphylococcus
epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and yeast Candida albicans. The various
fractions of the ethanolic S. scardica extract exhibited antimicrobial activity
to a varying degree against all tested strains, with maximum activity observed
against E. coli, S. epidermidis, M. luteus, and P. aeruginosa strains, and
moderate activity against the K. pneumoniae strain.6
Even though some of the biological activities and
ethnobotanical applications of Sideritis extracts have been investigated in in
vitro experiments, further research of particular active constituents and their
mechanisms of action is needed. Elucidating the mechanism of action of active
constituents would have important implications on understanding the biological
effects that Sideritis preparations might have in vivo. The scientific
community still needs to confirm the efficacy of Greek Mountain Tea in clinical
trials/studies. From the practical point of view, variability in the chemical
and nutraceutical composition of this medicinal plant needs to be
addressed and minimized in the scope of cultivation practices, in order to
ensure consistency in the quality and potency of Sideritis plant material.
References
1.Todorova M, Trendafilova A. Sideritis scardica Griseb., an
endemic species of Balkan peninsula: Traditional uses, cultivation, chemical
composition, biological activity. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2014;152: 256-265.
2.Petreska J, Stefkov G, Kulevanova S, et al. Phenolic
compounds of mountain tea from the Balkans: LC/DAD/ESI/MS Profile and Content.
Nat. Prod. Commun. 2011;6(1): 21-30.
3.Gabrieli CN, Kefalas PG, Kokkalou EL. Antioxidant activity
of flavonoids from Sideritis raeseri. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2005;96: 423-428.
4.Danesi F, Saha S, Kroon PA, et al. Bioactive-rich
Sideritis scardica tea (mountain tea) is as potent as Camellia sinensis tea at
inducing cellular antioxidant defences and preventing oxidative stress. J. Sci.
Food Agric. 2013;93: 3558-3564.
5.Aligiannis N, Kalpoutzakis E, Chinou IB, et al.
Composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of five taxa of
Sideritis from Greece. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001;49(2): 811–815.
6.Tadić VM, Djordjević S, Arsić I, et al. Anti-inflammatory
and antimicrobial activity of Sideritis scardica extracts. Planta Med.
2007;73(9): 98.
7.Tadić VM, Jeremić I, Dobrić S, et al. Anti-inflammatory,
gastroprotective and cytotoxic effects of Sideritis scardica extracts. Planta
Med. 2012;78: 415-427.
8.Đorđević S, Blagojević S, Sekulović D, et al. The analysis
of mineral content in active components and the preparation of
phytopreparations for anemia prevention. Arh. Farm. 1993;43: 225–231.
Jasenka Piljac Zegarac is a scientist and freelance writer.
She holds a PhD in biology and a BS degree in biochemistry, and contributes on
a regular basis to several health and science blogs. She may be contacted for
assistance with a variety of science and medical writing projects. Find Jasenka
on LinkedIn.
brunswicklabs.com