Guarana and Gurana Extract:Phytochemicals,Botanical Info and History.
Contents
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- Basic Botanical info of Guarana.
- Phytochemicals and constituents of Guarana.
- Guarana Plantation and Habitat.
- Facts,Properties,Available forms:Guarana.
- Uses Guarana.
- Theory and Scientific Support of Guarana.
- History of Use with Natives:Guarana.
- Guarana Brief Summary.
- Research Update:Paullinia cupana or Guarana.
Phytochemicals and constituents of Guarana.:
Chemical composition of Guarana seeds:
Vegetable fiber: 49.125 %
Reddish resin: 8.800 %
Starch: 8.350 %
Water: 7.650 %
Pectin, malic acid, mucilage, dextrin, salts: 7.470 %
Guarana-tannic acid: 5.902 %
Caffeine: 5.388 %
Yellowish steady oil: 2.950 %
Pyro-guarana acid: 2.750 %
Reddish colorant: 1.520 %
Amorphous substances: 0.606 %
Saponin: 0.060 %
Guarana's active components are guaranine and the alkaloids theobromine and theophylline. Guaranine is almost identical in chemical structure to caffeine and has many of the same effects. Guarana also contains tannins, which may account for its traditional use to treat diarrhea.
The first chemical examination of guarana seeds was performed by the German botanist Theodore von Martius in the 1700s. He isolated a bitter, white crystalline substance with a remarkable physiological action. Von Martius named this substance guaranine, and it was later renamed caffeine. Many today still believe guaranine to be a unique phytochemical in guarana . It is, however (according to chemists), caffeine. As one group of researchers put it, guaranine is a product of crude laboratory processes and "should be considered non-existent, being in reality impure caffeine." Guaranine is probably just caffeine bound to a tannin or phenol. In living plants, xanthines (such as caffeine) are bound to sugars, phenols, and tannins, and are set free or unbound during the roasting process. Guarana seeds contain up to 4-8% caffeine (25,000 to 75,000 ppm), as well as trace amounts of theophylline (500 to 750 ppm) and theobromine (300 to 500 ppm). They also contain large quantities of alkaloids, terpenes, tannins, flavonoids, starch, saponins, and resinous substances.
The xanthine alkaloids (caffeine, theophylline, theobromine) are believed to contribute significantly to guarana's therapeutic activity. In clinical studies, theophylline stimulates the heart and central nervous system, enhances alertness and alleviates fatigue. It also has strong diuretic activity and reduces constriction of the bronchials, making it useful in asthma. Theobromine has similar effects. Certainly many traditional uses of guarana may be explained by its caffeine content. Among its many documented effects, caffeine has been shown to facilitate fat loss and reduce fatigue.
The main chemicals found in guarana are: adenine, allantoin, alpha-copaene, anethole, caffeine, carvacrol, caryophyllene, catechins, catechutannic acid, choline, dimethylbenzene, dimethylpropylphenol, estragole, glucose, guanine, hypoxanthine, limonene, mucilage, nicotinic acid, proanthocyanidins, protein, resin, salicylic acid, starch, sucrose, tannic acid, tannins, theobromine, theophylline, timbonine, and xanthine.
Reference:
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- 1.Guarana and Gurana Extract:Phytochemicals,Botanical Info and History.
Article Information:
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