Paullinia cupana Guarana benefit and side effects, use as a supplement

Paullinia cupana is a climbing plant native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Paullinia cupana is best known for its fruit, which is about the size of a coffee berry. Each Paullinia cupana fruit contains about one seed, which contains approximately three times as much caffeine as coffee beans. Paullinia cupana is a popular herb native to the Amazon Basin and used extensively in soft drinks in Brazil, other Latin American countries, and more recently in the United States.

Paullinia cupana roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre-Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastrointestinal tract. Paullinia cupana plants are commercially cultivated exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated soft-drink industry and natural product stores around the world.

Paullinia cupana popularity
Paullinia cupana is a rainforest vine that was domesticated in the Amazon for its caffeine-rich fruits. Paullinia cupana has long been used as a tonic and to treat various disorders in Brazil and abroad and became a national soda in Brazil about a century ago. In the last two decades or so, Paullinia cupana has become key ingredient in various energy drinks. Paullinia cupana has a high caffeine content which may be a detriment because of health concerns about excessive intake of caffeine.

Paullinia cupana composition
Paullinia cupana contains tannins, theobromine, theophylline, (+)-catechin and caffeine.

IPaullinia cupana antidepressant effects
n rodents, extracts of Paullinia cupana have antidepressant effects after long term use.

Paulina species
Paullinia crysan
Paullinia cupana
Paulinia pinnata herb
Paullinia sorbilis

Inhibitory effects of guarana seed extract on passive cutaneous anaphylaxis and mast cell degranulation.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2009 Sep; Jippo T, Kobayashi Y, Sato H, Hattori A, Takeuchi H, Sugimoto K, Shigekawa M. Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Human Life Sciences, Senri Kinran University, 5-25-1 Fujishirodai, Suita, Osaka 565-0873, Japan.
This study investigated the effects of guarana seed extract (GSE) on an anti-allergic mechanism. GSE orally administered inhibited the anti-dinitrophenol IgE-induced passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in mice. Furthermore, it inhibited the degranulation of rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells. It had no cytotoxicity on RBL-2H3 cells. These results show that guarana seed extract is a candidate for effective therapeutic material for allergic diseases.

 

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