Thanks LauraR and sorry it took me so long to get to this one! The dry scent was very pleasant – rooibos but with a sweet, almost fruity, twist to it. This translated into the steeped scent nicely, but the taste was awfully bitter and left a horrible, sour note in the throat which was really not very pleasant. I didn’t steep this very long (for rooibos – 6 mins, boiling water), so the sutherlandia must just be very bitter.
Red Rooibos with Sutherlandia
Premium, 100% natural Suffuse Rooibos is blended with unique indigenous plants that have been used for centuries as powerful healing remedies. These beneficial botanicals combined with our naturally sweet tasting caffeine-free Rooibos, creates a brilliant mix of health and taste!
Sutherlandia frutescens is a traditional herbal remedy that has enjoyed a long history of safe use. There are four key compounds that contribute to the efficacy of this medicinal plant: the non-protein amino-acid L-canavanine, pinitol, GABA and asparagine. In addition, a novel triterpenoid glucoside has been isolated and characterized with its utility still to be determined.
L-canavanine: There are significant levels of this compound in sutherlandia leaves. This potent amino-acid is an L-arginine antagonist with documented anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-cancer activities (Swaffar 1995; Crooks 1994).
The anti-viral activity includes anti-influenza and anti-retrovirus (Green 1988). L-canavanine is also a selective inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase, and therefore has possible application in the treatment of septic shock and chronic inflammation (Anfoss, G. et a11999; Levy, B et aI1999).
Sutherlandia powerfully assists the body to mobilize its own resources to cope with diverse physical and mental stresses, and should therefore more correctly be known as an adaptogenictonic.
