Guarana
Guaraná | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Sapindaceae |
Genus: | Paullinia |
Species: | P. cupana
|
Binomial name | |
Paullinia cupana |
Guaraná (
As a dietary supplement or herb, guaraná seed is an effective stimulant:[1] it contains about twice the concentration of caffeine found in coffee beans (about 2–8% caffeine in guarana seeds,[2] compared to about 1–3% for coffee beans).[3] The additive has gained notoriety for being used in energy drinks. As with other plants producing caffeine, the high concentration of caffeine is a defensive toxin that repels insects from the berry and seeds.[4]
The color of the fruit ranges from brown to red and it contains black seeds that are partly covered by white arils.[5] The color contrast when the fruit is split open has been compared with the appearance of eyeballs,[5] and has become the basis of an origin myth among the Sateré-Mawé people.[6]
History and culture
The word guaraná comes from the
Guaraná plays an important role in Tupi and Guarani culture. According to a myth attributed to the Sateré-Maué tribe, guaraná's domestication originated with a deity killing a beloved village child. To console the villagers, a more benevolent god plucked the left eye from the child and planted it in the forest, resulting in the wild variety of guaraná. The god then plucked the right eye from the child and planted it in the village, giving rise to domesticated guarana.[5][8]
The Guaranis make a herbal tea by shelling, washing and drying the seeds, followed by pounding them into a fine powder. The powder is kneaded into a dough and then shaped into cylinders. This product is known as guaraná bread, which is grated and then immersed into hot water along with sugar.[9]
This plant was introduced to European colonizers and to Europe in the 16th century by Felip Betendorf, Oviedo, Hernández, Cobo and other Spaniard chroniclers.[citation needed] By 1958, guaraná was commercialized.[9][10][dubious ]
Composition
According to the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, guaranine (better known as caffeine) is found in guaraná and is identical to caffeine derived from other sources, like coffee, tea, kola nut, and Ilex. Guaranine, theine, and mateine are all synonyms for caffeine when the definitions of those words include none of the properties and chemicals of their host plants except caffeine.[11]
Natural sources of caffeine contain widely varying mixtures of
The table below contains a partial listing of some of the chemicals found in guaraná seeds,[15][16] although other parts of the plant also may contain them in varying quantities.
Chemical component | Parts per million
|
---|---|
Adenine | |
Ash | < 14,200 |
Caffeine | 9,100–76,000 |
Catechutannic-acid
|
|
Choline | |
D-catechin
|
|
Fat | < 30,000 |
Guanine | |
Hypoxanthine | |
Mucilage | |
Protein | < 98,600 |
Resin | < 70,000 |
Saponin | |
Starch | 50,000–60,000 |
Tannin | 50,000–120,000 |
Theobromine | 200–400 |
Theophylline | 0–2,500 |
Timbonine | |
Xanthine |
Uses
Safety
In the United States, guaraná fruit powder and seed extract have not been evaluated for the status of "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration, but rather are approved as food additives for flavor (but not non-flavor) uses.[17][18]
Guaraná is used in sweetened or carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks, an ingredient of herbal teas or contained in dietary supplement capsules. South America obtains much of its caffeine from guaraná.[19]
Beverages
Brazil, the third-largest consumer of
See also
- Guaraná Antarctica – guaraná flavored soft drink from Brazil
References
- ^ Johannes L (March 2, 2010). "Can a Caffeine-Packed Plant Give a Boost?". The Wall Street Journal. p. D3.
- from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- PMID 29579918.
- PMID 18068204.
- ^ a b c d e f Balston C (April 29, 2021). "Guaraná: The edible 'eyes of the Amazon'". BBC Home. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ^ Prance G, Nesbitt M, eds. (2004). Cultural History of Plants. New York: Routledge. p. 179.
- ^ "guarana". Merriam Webster. Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
- ISBN 978-0-415-92746-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-92723-9.
- ISBN 9781135958176.
- ^ "Caffeine". Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archived from the original on 2007-11-24. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ISBN 978-0-8493-2647-9.
- ^ "Substance Name: Caffeine [USP:BAN:JAN]". ChemIDplus. US National Library of Medicine. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- PMID 9680692.
- ^ OCLC 41920916, archived from the originalon 2004-11-19, retrieved 2007-09-18
- ^ OCLC 25874249.
- ^ "FDA Responds to Durbin's Energy Drink Letter". Natural Products Insider, Global Health and Nutrition Network. 20 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Guarana gum and guarana seed extract; Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS); Documents 2189 and 3150". US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-415-92723-9.
- ISBN 978-0-415-92723-9.
- ^ Johnson-Roehr SN (September 29, 2023). "Guaraná: Stimulation from the Amazon to the World". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved March 16, 2024.