Home Ingredients Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria)
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Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria)

Ilex vomitoria
Evidence Level
Preliminary
4 Clinical Trials
5 Documented Benefits
1/5 Evidence Score

Yaupon is a caffeine-containing holly native to the southeastern United States, and the only plant native to North America known to make its own caffeine. It is closely related to South American yerba mate and guayusa, and like them the dried leaves are brewed into a tea. Despite the species name vomitoria, yaupon is not an emetic: the name traces to Native American purification ceremonies in which very large volumes were taken, often after fasting or with other plants, and university extension sources say a cup brewed the ordinary way does not upset the stomach. Research so far is mostly laboratory work on its caffeine, chlorogenic acid and other polyphenols, and test-tube antioxidant activity, with no clinical trials in people. The leaf is very low in the catechins found in green tea. Because it contains caffeine, the usual caffeine cautions apply around sleep, pregnancy and heart rhythm.

Studied Dose Consumed as a tea brewed from dried leaves, a few grams steeped in hot water. Measured caffeine varies widely, from near zero to about 1.9 percent of leaf dry weight, so a cup is broadly comparable to green tea. No supplement dose has been tested in people.
Active Compound Caffeine (plus trace theobromine, theophylline and theacrine); chlorogenic acid and other caffeoylquinic acids; flavonols rutin and kaempferol rutinoside; very low in catechins.

Benefits

Caffeine in the leaf for everyday alertness

Yaupon leaves contain caffeine, and caffeine is well known to raise alertness and reduce the sense of fatigue in people. Laboratory analyses put yaupon caffeine anywhere from undetectable to about 1.9 percent of leaf dry weight, with the youngest leaves measured at about 0.57 percent. No trial has measured energy or alertness from yaupon itself, so this rests on the caffeine it delivers.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 2

Chlorogenic acid and flavonol polyphenols with antioxidant activity

The leaf is rich in caffeoylquinic acids, chiefly chlorogenic acid and its isomers, together with the flavonol glycosides rutin and kaempferol rutinoside, and it is very low in the catechins of green tea. In test-tube assays measuring DPPH, ABTS and FRAP, yaupon leaf extracts scavenge free radicals, with spring leaves scoring highest. These are laboratory readings, not antioxidant effects shown in people.

Supported by Trial 2, Trial 4

Flavonols lowered oxidative and inflammatory signals in cell studies

In cultured human colon cells, a yaupon flavonol-rich fraction built on quercetin and kaempferol rutinosides protected cells against reactive oxygen species, partly by raising the activity of the cells' own antioxidant enzymes, and it increased microRNA-146a, which tones down NF-kB inflammation signaling. This is cell-culture work, not evidence of an effect in the body.

Supported by Trial 3

Delivers caffeine alongside trace theobromine and theacrine

Beyond caffeine, chemical surveys of the holly genus report small amounts of theobromine and theophylline in yaupon beverages, and theacrine was first detected in the genus, at low levels in yaupon. The amounts of all of these shift markedly with leaf age, growing conditions and nitrogen fertilization, so any given batch can vary.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 2

Brewed as an everyday tea, not a ceremonial purgative

The species name vomitoria comes from Native American purification rituals in which very large volumes of a concentrated brew were taken, often after fasting or with other plants, rather than from any emetic compound in the holly. University extension sources state that yaupon tea does not cause stomach upset when it is drunk in ordinary, moderate amounts.

Supported by Trial 1, Trial 4

Mechanism of action

1

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors

Caffeine from the leaf competes with adenosine at receptors in the brain, which is the usual way caffeinated drinks reduce the feeling of tiredness and raise alertness. This is general caffeine pharmacology and has not been tested with yaupon specifically.

2

Polyphenols scavenge free radicals in the laboratory

Chlorogenic acid, other caffeoylquinic acids and the flavonols rutin and kaempferol rutinoside can donate electrons to neutralize reactive oxygen species in test-tube assays. This is the proposed basis for yaupon's antioxidant readings, seen in cell-free and cell-culture systems rather than in people.

3

A low-catechin, saponin-rich leaf

Unlike green tea, yaupon is very low in catechins; its polyphenols are dominated by caffeoylquinic acids, and its infusions carry notably more saponin than green tea. This composition is why its antioxidant profile and storage behavior differ from catechin teas.

Clinical trials

1
Caffeine and alkaloid profiling of yaupon and related hollies (laboratory, no participants)
PubMed

Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry profiling and chemotaxonomy of leaf samples from caffeine-containing Ilex species, quantifying purine alkaloids and screening for other metabolites (Negrin et al. 2019, J Agric Food Chem).

Leaf samples of Ilex vomitoria, Ilex guayusa and Ilex paraguariensis; a laboratory chemistry study with no human participants.

Caffeine and related purine alkaloids were detected and quantified in yaupon, and reports of caffeine in the look-alike Ilex cassine were not confirmed, supporting yaupon as the traditional North American caffeinated tea. The study was the first to detect theacrine in the genus Ilex, present at low levels in yaupon. It measured chemistry only, not any effect in people.

2
Seasonal change in yaupon leaf antioxidant activity (laboratory, no participants)
PubMed

Measurement of nutrient elements, antioxidant substances and antioxidant capacity in yaupon leaves harvested at different stages (Sha et al. 2025, Plants (Basel)).

Yaupon leaves sampled across seasons; a laboratory study with no human participants.

Flavonoids and polyphenols were the main antioxidant substances, and the DPPH, ABTS and FRAP antioxidant readings varied significantly by season, with spring leaves showing the strongest antioxidant capacity. Caffeine, catechins, vitamin C and minerals also shifted by season. These are chemical and test-tube measures only.

3
Yaupon flavonol fraction in human colon cells (laboratory, no participants)
PubMed

Activity-guided fractionation of yaupon leaf polyphenols tested in cultured human colon cell lines for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive activity (Noratto et al. 2011, Fitoterapia).

Cultured human colon cells (normal CCD-18Co cells and HT-29 cancer cells); no human participants.

A flavonol-rich fraction built on quercetin and kaempferol rutinosides preferentially lowered the viability of the cancer cells over the normal cells, protected normal cells from reactive oxygen species by raising antioxidant-enzyme activity, and up-regulated microRNA-146a, a brake on NF-kB inflammation signaling. All results are from cell culture, not from people.

4
Stability of yaupon antioxidants in bottled infusions (laboratory, no participants)
PubMed

Comparison of how glass, PET and retort-pouch packaging affect the antioxidant polyphenols of green tea and yaupon holly infusions during 12 weeks of cold storage (Kim et al. 2011, J Agric Food Chem).

Aqueous yaupon and green tea infusions in different packaging; a laboratory storage study with no human participants.

In yaupon, chlorogenic acid and its isomers were the predominant polyphenols and were generally stable in every package tested, and the infusion held about 20 times more saponin than green tea, which helped keep its flavonol glycosides stable. Yaupon antioxidant capacity changed little with packaging, unlike green tea. Chemistry only, with no health outcome measured.

Side effects and drug interactions

Common Potential side effects

This is a caffeine-containing tea, so the usual caffeine effects can occur if you are sensitive or drink a lot: trouble sleeping, anxiety, jitteriness, a faster or pounding heartbeat, and a short-term rise in blood pressure. Caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours, so avoid late-afternoon and evening cups if you want to sleep.
Caffeine content in yaupon varies widely with leaf age, growing conditions and processing, so the strength of a cup is hard to predict; start with a weak brew to see how it affects you.
The species name vomitoria does not mean the plant is an emetic. Historical reports of vomiting came from ceremonies that used very large, concentrated volumes, often with fasting or other herbs. A cup brewed and drunk in ordinary, moderate amounts does not cause stomach upset according to university extension sources.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding: most authorities advise keeping total caffeine under about 200 mg a day, and yaupon counts toward that total. It is not recommended for children.
Harvest only correctly identified Ilex vomitoria. Several native hollies look similar and some are not safe to consume, and as with any new food, try a small amount first in case of allergy.

Important Drug interactions

Stimulant medications (such as ADHD drugs and ephedrine): the caffeine in yaupon can add to their effects on heart rate and blood pressure.
Adenosine-based cardiac stress agents (dipyridamole, regadenoson): caffeine blocks the same receptors and can interfere, so these tests usually require avoiding caffeine beforehand.
Drugs that slow caffeine clearance, such as fluvoxamine and ciprofloxacin and other quinolone antibiotics, can raise and prolong caffeine's effects; caffeine in turn can raise levels of theophylline.
Lithium and MAO inhibitors: caffeine may modestly affect lithium levels, and large amounts of caffeine with MAO inhibitors are generally discouraged.
Iron: the chlorogenic acids in yaupon can reduce absorption of non-heme (plant) iron, so separate a cup from iron supplements or iron-rich meals by an hour or two.

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Frequently asked questions about Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria)

What is yaupon?

Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) is a holly shrub native to the southeastern United States and the only plant native to North America that makes its own caffeine. Its dried leaves are brewed into a tea, much like its South American relatives yerba mate and guayusa. Native Americans and later European colonists drank it as a caffeinated beverage.

Does yaupon tea make you throw up?

No. The alarming species name vomitoria comes from Native American purification ceremonies, where very large volumes of a strong brew were taken, often after fasting or with other plants, not from any emetic compound in the holly itself. University extension sources say a cup brewed the ordinary way does not cause stomach upset in moderate amounts.

How much caffeine is in yaupon?

It varies. Laboratory measurements of yaupon caffeine range from almost none to about 1.9 percent of leaf dry weight depending on leaf age, growing conditions and fertilization, and a 2025 preprint found about 0.57 percent in the youngest leaves. In practice a cup is broadly comparable to green tea. Count it toward your daily caffeine, especially during pregnancy or if you are sensitive.

How is yaupon different from yerba mate and guayusa?

All three are caffeinated hollies in the genus Ilex, but they are different species from different regions: yaupon from North America, yerba mate and guayusa from South America. Yaupon is very low in the catechins in green tea and its polyphenols are mainly chlorogenic acids. The research on each is separate, and yaupon in particular has no clinical trials in people yet.

What is Yaupon used for?

Yaupon is researched primarily for Energy and Antioxidant. Yaupon leaves contain caffeine, and caffeine is well known to raise alertness and reduce the sense of fatigue in people. Laboratory analyses put yaupon caffeine anywhere from undetectable to about 1.

What is the recommended dosage of Yaupon?

The clinically studied dose is Consumed as a tea brewed from dried leaves, a few grams steeped in hot water. Measured caffeine varies widely, from near zero to about 1.9 percent of leaf dry weight, so a cup is broadly comparable to green tea. No supplement dose has been tested in people. Always follow the product label and check with a healthcare provider for personal advice.

Is Yaupon safe, and does it have side effects?

For most healthy adults, Yaupon is well tolerated at studied doses. Reported effects can include: This is a caffeine-containing tea, so the usual caffeine effects can occur if you are sensitive or drink a lot: trouble sleeping, anxiety, jitteriness, a faster or pounding heartbeat, and a short-term rise in blood pressure. It may also interact with some medications. Yaupon is not right for everyone, so check with a healthcare provider first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a medical condition, or take prescription medication.

Does Yaupon interact with any medications?

Possible interactions include: Stimulant medications (such as ADHD drugs and ephedrine): the caffeine in yaupon can add to their effects on heart rate and blood pressure. Adenosine-based cardiac stress agents (dipyridamole, regadenoson): caffeine blocks the same receptors and can interfere, so these tests usua… If you take prescription medication, check with a pharmacist or doctor before using it.

How strong is the scientific evidence for Yaupon?

NutraSmarts rates the evidence for Yaupon as Preliminary (1 out of 5). It is backed by 4 clinical trials and 9 cited references summarized on this page. A higher rating reflects more, larger, and better-designed human studies.

References(9 citations)

Evidence ratings on NutraSmarts are based on the totality of human clinical research, with emphasis on randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. The references below directly support claims made throughout this page.

  1. Negrin A, Long C, Motley TJ, Kennelly EJ. LC-MS Metabolomics and Chemotaxonomy of Caffeine-Containing Holly (Ilex) Species and Related Taxa in the Aquifoliaceae. J Agric Food Chem. 2019;67(19):5687-5699. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b07168.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory LC-MS profiling of leaf samples from Ilex vomitoria, Ilex guayusa and Ilex paraguariensis (no human participants). Purine alkaloids including caffeine were detected and quantified in yaupon, reports of caffeine in the look-alike Ilex cassine were not corroborated, and theacrine was detected for the first time in the genus Ilex as a low-level marker in yaupon, supporting yaupon as the traditional North American caffeinated tea.
  2. Sha L, Yin Y, Xue Y, Zou X, Zheng B, Zhang J, Yan D. Seasonal Dynamic Changes in the Nutrient Elements and Antioxidant Activity of Ilex vomitoria Leaf. Plants (Basel). 2025;14(13):1919. doi: 10.3390/plants14131919.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory study of yaupon leaves harvested at different stages (no human participants). Flavonoids and polyphenols were the main antioxidant substances, and mineral elements, soluble sugars, vitamin C, flavonoids, polyphenols, caffeine, catechins and the DPPH, ABTS and FRAP antioxidant readings all varied significantly by season, with spring leaves showing the strongest antioxidant capacity.
  3. Gan RY, Zhang D, Wang M, Corke H. Health Benefits of Bioactive Compounds from the Genus Ilex, a Source of Traditional Caffeinated Beverages. Nutrients. 2018;10(11):1682. doi: 10.3390/nu10111682.PubMedUsed to support: Review of caffeinated beverages from the genus Ilex. It reports that yaupon beverages contain caffeine, theobromine and theophylline, that caffeine in yaupon has been measured at 0 to 1.91 percent of leaf dry weight (varying with nitrogen fertilizer but not gender), that yaupon polyphenols are mainly caffeoylquinic acids plus rutin and kaempferol rutinoside, and that the leaf is free of catechins. Consumption of Ilex teas has shown high antioxidant activity in reported assays.
  4. Noratto GD, Kim Y, Talcott ST, Mertens-Talcott SU. Flavonol-rich fractions of yaupon holly leaves (Ilex vomitoria, Aquifoliaceae) induce microRNA-146a and have anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects in intestinal myofibroblast CCD-18Co cells. Fitoterapia. 2011;82(4):557-69. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2011.01.013.PubMedUsed to support: Cell-culture study in human colon cells (no human participants). A yaupon flavonol-rich fraction (quercetin and kaempferol rutinosides) preferentially inhibited HT-29 colon cancer cell viability over normal CCD-18Co cells, protected the normal cells from reactive oxygen species in part by raising antioxidant-enzyme activity, and up-regulated microRNA-146a, a negative regulator of NF-kB inflammation signaling.
  5. Kim Y, Welt BA, Talcott ST. The impact of packaging materials on the antioxidant phytochemical stability of aqueous infusions of green tea (Camellia sinensis) and yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) during cold storage. J Agric Food Chem. 2011;59(9):4676-83. doi: 10.1021/jf104799y.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory storage study of tea infusions (no human participants). In yaupon, chlorogenic acid and its isomers were the predominant polyphenols and were generally stable in glass, PET and retort-pouch packaging, the infusion contained about 20.6-fold more saponin than green tea, and its total antioxidant capacity changed little across packaging, unlike green tea.
  6. Kim Y, Talcott ST. Tea creaming in nonfermented teas from Camellia sinensis and Ilex vomitoria. J Agric Food Chem. 2012;60(47):11793-9. doi: 10.1021/jf303555f.PubMedUsed to support: Laboratory study of tea creaming (no human participants). It describes yaupon as a caffeine-containing botanical tea that is free of catechin-based polyphenolics, and found that adding phenolics, caffeine or metal ions increased turbidity and that antioxidant capacity fell after creaming as antioxidants were lost into the cream.
  7. Palumbo MJ, Putz FE, Talcott ST. Nitrogen fertilizer and gender effects on the secondary metabolism of yaupon, a caffeine-containing North American holly. Oecologia. 2007;151(1):1-9. doi: 10.1007/s00442-006-0574-1.PubMedUsed to support: Agronomy study of pot-grown yaupon (no human participants). Caffeine and total alkaloid concentrations were 5 to 10 times higher in nitrogen-fertilized plants than in controls and did not vary by plant gender, and antioxidant capacity correlated strongly with the leaf's phenolic compounds (cinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoids), which the authors note also protect the plant from oxidative stress.
  8. Long B, Harding S, Mozaffari K, Bennetzen JL. Leaf stage and roasting shape methylxanthine levels, chlorogenic acid, and overall metabolic profile of Ilex vomitoria leaf extracts. bioRxiv (preprint). 2025;Preprint, posted 2025 Sep 30. doi: 10.1101/2025.09.29.679294.SourceUsed to support: Not peer reviewed and not PubMed-indexed (bioRxiv preprint, read directly). Laboratory analysis of yaupon leaf extracts found caffeine highest in the youngest leaves at about 0.57 percent of dry weight, with theobromine and theacrine also present at low levels and chlorogenic acid (3-caffeoylquinic acid) at a few percent; methylxanthines fell markedly in more mature leaves and roasting did not significantly change methylxanthine or chlorogenic acid content. The authors note that detailed work on the full chemical constituents of yaupon is still lacking.
  9. University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions. Yaupon Holly Tea. University of Florida IFAS Extension. 2024;Gardening Solutions consumer horticulture article, accessed 2026..SourceUsed to support: Not PubMed-indexed (university extension article, read directly). States that the name vomitoria comes from yaupon tea's historical association with purifying rituals in which copious amounts of tea were consumed to induce purging, advises readers not to be put off by the word vomitoria, and says the tea will not cause intestinal distress when consumed in moderate amounts. Also notes the leaves provide caffeine and antioxidants and that only correctly identified Ilex vomitoria should be brewed.