Coffee candies. Help [Archive] - VeggieBoards

troub

September 21st, 2008, 12:13 AM

Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline xanthine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthine) alkaloid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaloid) that acts as a psychoactive (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive) stimulant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant) drug (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug) and a mild diuretic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diuretic) (speeds up urine production)[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-2) in humans and other animals. Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819. He coined the term "kaffein", a chemical compound in coffee, which in English became caffeine.[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-3) Caffeine is also called guaranine when found in guarana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarana), mateine when found in mate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_%28beverage%29), and theine when found in tea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea); all of these names are synonyms for the same chemical compound.
Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean), leaves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf), and fruit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit) of over 60 plants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plants), where it acts as a natural pesticide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide) that paralyzes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralyze) and kills certain insects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect) feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the beans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_bean) of the coffee plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_arabica) and the leaves of the tea bush (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sinensis), as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the kola nut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut) or from cacao (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacao). Other sources include yerba mate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate), guarana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarana) berries, and the Yaupon Holly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaupon_Holly).
In humans, caffeine is a central nervous system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_nervous_system) (CNS) stimulant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant), having the effect of temporarily warding off drowsiness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drowsiness) and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee), tea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea), soft drinks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_drink) and energy drinks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_drink) enjoy great popularity. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_substance), but unlike most others, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-demon_drink-4) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a "Multiple Purpose Generally Recognized as Safe Food Substance".[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-5) One 2008 study suggested that women consuming 200 milligrams or more of caffeine per day had about twice the miscarriage risk as women who had none, while another 2008 study found no link between miscarriage and caffeine consumption.[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-PregDiffOutcomes-6)

[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caffeine&action=edit&section=1)] Occurrence

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a2/Coffee_beans.jpg/180px-Coffee_beans.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Coffee_beans.jpg) http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Coffee_beans.jpg)
Roasted coffee beans, the world's primary source of caffeine

Caffeine is a plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant) alkaloid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaloid), found in many plant species, where it acts as a natural pesticide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide), with high caffeine levels being reported in seedlings that are still developing foliages, but are lacking mechanical protection;[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-7) caffeine paralyzes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralyze) and kills certain insects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect) feeding upon the plant.[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-8) High caffeine levels have also been found in the surrounding soil of coffee bean seedlings. It is therefore understood that caffeine has a natural function as both a natural pesticide and as an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-9) thus giving it a better chance of survival.
The most commonly used caffeine-containing plants are coffee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee), tea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea), and to a lesser extent[11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-10) cocoa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa). Other, less commonly used, sources of caffeine include the yerba mate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate)[12] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-mateine-11) and guarana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarana) plants, which are sometimes used in the preparation of teas and energy drinks. Two of caffeine's alternative names, mateine[13] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-12) and guaranine,[14] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-13) are derived from the names of these plants. Some yerba mate enthusiasts assert that mateine is a stereoisomer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoisomer) of caffeine, which would make it a different substance altogether.[12] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-mateine-11) This is not true because caffeine is an achiral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_%28chemistry%29) molecule, and therefore has no enantiomers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enantiomer); nor does it have other stereoisomers. The disparity in experience and effects between the various natural caffeine sources could be due to the fact that plant sources of caffeine also contain widely varying mixtures of other xanthine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthine) alkaloids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaloid), including the cardiac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac) stimulants theophylline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophylline) and theobromine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine) and other substances such as polyphenols (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphenols) which can form insoluble complexes with caffeine.[15] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-14)
The world's primary source of caffeine is the coffee bean (the seed of the coffee plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea)), from which coffee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee) is brewed. Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of coffee bean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_bean) and the method of preparation used;[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-ICO-15) even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 40 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of arabica-variety espresso (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espresso), to about 100 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee. Generally, dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean's caffeine content.[17] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-caffaq_roast-16)[18] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-jeremiahspick-17) Arabica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_arabica) coffee normally contains less caffeine than the robusta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_canephora) variety.[16] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#cite_note-ICO-15) Coffee also contains trace amounts of theophylline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophylline), but no theobromine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine