South African Rooibos Council

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ROOIBOS FAQ’S

Several scientists are still working to unravel the complex mix of compounds in Rooibos tea. This is what we know so far:

An extract of Rooibos contains a complex mix flavonoid antioxidants, including aspalathin – to date only isolated from Aspalathus linearis (the botanical name for Rooibos). Aspalathin is the major flavonoid of unfermented rooibos. It decreases during fermentation, but is still a major flavonoid constituent of fermented rooibos (the tea with the characteristic red-brown colour and flavour). Aspalathin is important, not only because it is a novel compound, but also because it is often the most active anti-oxidant in Rooibos. Rooibos also contains the rare flavonoid glucoside nothofagin. Other major phenolic compounds are orientin and iso-orientin, with smaller amounts of vitexin and isovitexin and many more compounds.
Rooibos extract contains trace amounts of minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium and zinc. It does not contain measurable levels of Vitamin C or Vitamin E.
Rooibos does not contain any caffeine. The Rooibos extract also does not contain any fat or proteins, and therefore also no kilojoules. It is considered a low tannin beverage, especially when compared to Camellia sinensis (black) tea.
Rooibos is very low in sodium.

It means that there is no caffeine in Rooibos and it is therefore not necessary to decaffeinate it to get rid of caffeine. Caffeine containing drinks can be decaffeinated, but, depending on the specific decaffeination process used, the end-product may contain potentially harmful traces of solvent residues. That is why many people prefer not to drink beverages that have been chemically decaffeinated.

The table below provides the typical nutritional information for rooibos tea (traditional and gree rooibos) to be printed on all Rooibos tea pacaking in future. It is in line with the latest food labelling legislation published on 1 March 2010 – Regulation 146 of the Foodstuff, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act (Act 54 of 1972) that comes in to effect on 1 March 2011

ROOIBOS TEA: TYPICAL NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION*

	Per 100 ml tea	Per single serving (200 ml tea)
Energy (kJ)	0	0
Protein (g)	0	0
Glycaemic carbohydrate (g) of which total sugar (g)	0 0	0 0
Total fat (g) of which saturated fat (g)	0 0	0 0
Dietary fibre (g)**	0	0
Total sodium (mg)	3.8	7.6

*Provided by the South African Rooibos Council based on analysis at SANAS-accredited laboratories **Fibre content determined with AOAC 985.29 method