guaranina

What is Guaranina

Guaranine is a chemical substance structurally identical to caffeine (present, for example, in tea or coffee); therefore, the two terms can be used without distinction as synonyms.

Despite this, many supporters of guarana and its derivatives prefer to talk about guranin, depicting it as a separate chemical compound. There is no doubt, in fact, that the word "guaranina" - well imprinted on the label of an integrator or between the lines of a newspaper - exerts a greater appeal on potential customers than the traditional and twin caffeine.

The discovery of guaranine is the fruit of the studies of the Bavarian botanist Theodore Von Martius who isolated it for the first time in 1826.

On average, the guaranine content of guarana seeds varies from two to five percent.

Duration of action

A further cause for confusion derives from incorrect information on the longer duration of guaranine action. In reality, it is not surprising that this characteristic, which is completely extraneous to guaranine itself, simply depends on the higher lipid content of the guarana seed compared to the coffee.

In supplements, in fact, we generally find dried and reduced powdered guarana seeds, which, due to their reduced water solubility (due to their richness in lipids), are absorbed more slowly than pure caffeine or contained in a cup of coffee (even tannins and saponins can modulate their effect).

This is the main reason why the stimulating action of guarana is different and sometimes more appreciated than that of coffee.