Editing Guarana

{{short description|Species of tree}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=3}}
{{for multi|the type of soft drink containing guarana|Guaraná (soft drink)|the Peruvian beverage brand|Guaraná (Backus)|the song by Elodie|Guaranà (song)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Guaraná
|image = Paullinia_cupana_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-234.jpg
|image2 = Guarana - Paullinia cupana.jpg
|genus = Paullinia
|species = cupana
|authority = [[Carl Sigismund Kunth|Kunth]]
}}

'''Guaraná''' ({{IPAc-en|ɡ|w|ə|ˈ|r|ɑː|n|ə}} from the Portuguese ''guaraná'' {{IPA|pt|ɡʷaɾɐˈna|}}; '''''Paullinia cupana''''', [[synonym (taxonomy)|syns.]] ''P. crysan, P. sorbilis'') is a [[climbing plant]] in the family [[Sapindaceae]], native to the [[Amazon basin]] and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has large leaves and clusters of [[flower]]s, and is best known for the seeds from its beans, which are about the size of a coffee bean.

As a [[dietary supplement]] or [[herb]], guaraná seed is an effective [[stimulant]]:<ref>{{cite news |last=Johannes |first=Laura |title=Can a Caffeine-Packed Plant Give a Boost? |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |page=D3 |date=March 2, 2010}}</ref> it contains about twice the concentration of [[caffeine]] found in [[coffee bean]]s (about 2–8% caffeine in guarana seeds,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schimpl |first1=Flávia Camila |last2=da Silva |first2=José Ferreira |last3=Gonçalves |first3=José Francisco de Carvalho |last4=Mazzafera |first4=Paulo |title=Guarana: Revisiting a highly caffeinated plant from the Amazon |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378874113005771 |journal=[[Journal of Ethnopharmacology]] |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=14–31 |date=October 2013 |pmid=23981847 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2013.08.023 |access-date=2021-04-19 |archive-date=2021-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323214014/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378874113005771 |url-status=live }}</ref> compared to about 1–3% for coffee beans).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Caporaso |first1=Nicola |last2=Whitworth |first2=Martin B. |last3=Grebby |first3=Stephen |last4=Fisk |first4=Ian D. |title=Non-destructive analysis of sucrose, caffeine and trigonelline on single green coffee beans by hyperspectral imaging |journal=Food Research International (Ottawa, Ont.) |volume=106 |pages=193–203 |date=April 2018 |issn=0963-9969 |pmid=29579918 |pmc=5886291 |doi=10.1016/j.foodres.2017.12.031}}</ref> The additive has gained notoriety for being used in [[energy drink]]s. As with other plants producing caffeine, the high concentration of caffeine is a defensive [[toxin]] that repels insects from the berry and seeds.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ashihara H, Sano H, Crozier A |title=Caffeine and related purine alkaloids: biosynthesis, catabolism, function and genetic engineering |journal=Phytochemistry |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=841–56 |date=February 2008 |pmid=18068204 |doi=10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.10.029|bibcode=2008PChem..69..841A }}</ref>

The color of the fruit ranges from brown to red and it contains black [[seed]]s that are partly covered by white [[aril]]s.<ref name=Balston/> The color contrast when the fruit is split open has been compared with the appearance of eyeballs,<ref name=Balston/> and has become the basis of an [[origin myth]] among the [[Mawé people|Sateré-Mawé people]].<ref name="culthistplants">{{cite book |veditors=Prance G, Nesbitt M |title=Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |location=New York |page=179 }}</ref>

==History and culture==
The word ''guaraná'' has its origins in the [[Sateré-Maué]] word for the plant, ''warana''.<ref name="etymology">{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/guarana |title=guarana |dictionary=Merriam Webster |access-date=2007-09-18 |archive-date=2011-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917222504/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guarana |url-status=live }}</ref>

Guaraná plays an important role in [[Tupi people|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.<ref name=Balston/><ref name="culthistplants-179">{{cite book |last=Beck |first=H.T. |chapter=10 Caffeine, Alcohol, and Sweeteners |title=Cultural History of Plants |editor=Ghillean Prance |editor2=Mark Nesbitt |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |page=179 |isbn=978-0-415-92746-8}}</ref>

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.<ref name="worldofcaffeine-259">{{cite book |vauthors=Weinberg BA, Bealer BK |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92723-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/259 259–60] |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/259}}</ref>

This plant was introduced to European colonizers and to Europe in the [[16th century]] by Felip Betendorf, [[Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés|Oviedo]], [[Francisco Hernández de Toledo|Hernández]], [[Bernabé Cobo|Cobo]] and other Spaniard chroniclers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} It has since been used, refined, adapted and commercialized by settlers, folklorists, food scientists, and marketers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guaraná {{!}} Seth Garfield |url=https://uncpress.org/book/9781469671277/guarana/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=University of North Carolina Press |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Composition==
[[File:Guaranà original do Brasil.jpg|thumb|Guaraná fruits]]
[[File:Guaraná 02.jpg|thumb|Ripe guaraná fruits resemble [[Human eye|human eyes]].<ref name=Balston/>]]

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 [[Holly|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bmrb.wisc.edu/metabolomics/gen_metab_summary_5.php?molName=caffeine#SYNONYMS |title=Caffeine |publisher=Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, University of Wisconsin-Madison |access-date=2007-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124120021/http://www.bmrb.wisc.edu/metabolomics/gen_metab_summary_5.php?molName=caffeine#SYNONYMS |archive-date=2007-11-24 |url-status=dead}}</ref> <!--See talk page before disputing any of the above information.-->

Natural sources of caffeine contain widely varying mixtures of [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]]s other than caffeine, including the [[cardiac]] stimulants [[theophylline]], [[theobromine]] and other substances such as [[polyphenol]]s, which can form insoluble complexes with caffeine.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balentine |first1=D.A. |last2=Harbowy |first2=M.E. |last3=Graham |first3=H.N. |title=Caffeine |editor-last=Spiller |editor-first=G. |chapter=Tea: the Plant and its Manufacture; Chemistry and Consumption of the Beverage |publisher=CRC Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8493-2647-9 |doi=10.1201/9781420050134.ch3|doi-broken-date=2024-11-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://chem.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/rn/58-08-2#names |title=Substance Name: Caffeine [USP:BAN:JAN] |work=ChemIDplus |publisher=US National Library of Medicine |access-date=28 January 2015 |archive-date=17 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117145719/https://chem.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/rn/58-08-2#names |url-status=live }}</ref> The main [[natural phenol]]s found in guarana are [[(+)-catechin]] and [[(-)-epicatechin]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Liquid chromatographic determination of methylxanthines and catechins in herbal preparations containing guaraná |vauthors=Carlson M, Thompson RD |journal=Journal of AOAC International |volume=81 |issue=4 |pages=691–701 |date=July–August 1998 |pmid=9680692 |doi=10.1093/jaoac/81.4.691 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The table below contains a partial listing of some of the chemicals found in guaraná seeds,<ref name="duke-db" /><ref name="Duke1992a" /> although other parts of the plant also may contain them in varying quantities.

{| class="wikitable" style="width:35%; clear:left; margin:0 0 0.5em 1em;"
|+ A partial list of the components of guaraná seeds.<ref name="duke-db">{{citation |url=http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=703 |contribution=Guarana |title=Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases |date=2007-09-18 |access-date=2007-09-18 |oclc=41920916 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041119104654/http://sun.ars-grin.gov:8080/npgspub/xsql/duke/plantdisp.xsql?taxon=703 |archive-date=2004-11-19 }}</ref><ref name="Duke1992a">{{cite book |author=Duke JA |year=1992 |title=Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants |location=Boca Raton |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-3672-0 |oclc=25874249
}}</ref>
|-
! Chemical component !! [[Parts per million]]
|-
! [[Adenine]]
|
|-
! [[Ash (analytical chemistry)|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==
[[File:Guarana.jpg|thumb|right|Guaraná seed powder]]

===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 additive]]s for flavor (but not non-flavor) uses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2012/08/fda-responds-to-durbins-energy-drink-letter.aspx |title=FDA Responds to Durbin's Energy Drink Letter |publisher=Natural Products Insider, Global Health and Nutrition Network |date=20 August 2012 |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=22 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222194234/https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2012/08/fda-responds-to-durbins-energy-drink-letter.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/fcnNavigation.cfm?filter=guarana&sortColumn=&rpt=eafusListing&displayAll=false#2691|title=Guarana gum and guarana seed extract; Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS); Documents 2189 and 3150|date=23 April 2013|publisher=US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222121822/http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/fcnNavigation.cfm?filter=guarana&sortColumn=&rpt=eafusListing&displayAll=false#2691|url-status=live}}</ref>

Guaraná is used in sweetened or carbonated [[soft drink]]s and [[energy drink]]s, an ingredient of [[herbal tea]]s or contained in [[dietary supplement]] capsules. [[South America]] obtains much of its caffeine from guaraná.<ref name="worldofcaffeine-230">{{cite book |vauthors=Weinberg BA, Bealer BK |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92723-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/230 230] |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/230 }}</ref>

===Beverages===
{{Main|Guaraná (soft drink)}}
Brazil, the third-largest consumer of [[soft drink]]s in the world,<ref name="worldofcaffeine-192and3">{{cite book |vauthors=Weinberg BA, Bealer BK |title=The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World's Most Popular Drug |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-92723-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/192 192–3] |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofcaffeines00benn/page/192 }}</ref> produces several soft drink brands from the seeds of guaraná.<ref name="Balston">{{cite web | last=Balston | first=Catherine | title=Guaraná: The edible 'eyes of the Amazon' | website=BBC Home | date=April 29, 2021 | url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210428-guaran-the-edible-eyes-of-the-amazon | access-date=March 16, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Johnson-Roehr 2023 r405">{{cite web | last=Johnson-Roehr | first=S. N. | title=Guaraná: Stimulation from the Amazon to the World | website=JSTOR Daily | date=September 29, 2023 | url=https://daily.jstor.org/guarana-stimulation-from-the-amazon-to-the-world/ | access-date=March 16, 2024}}</ref> A [[fermented drink]] is also prepared from guaraná seeds, [[cassava]] and water. Paraguay is also a producer of guaraná soft drinks with several brands operating in its market. The word ''guaraná'' is widely used in Brazil, Peru and Paraguay as a reference to soft drinks containing guaraná extract.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

== Pop culture references==
Guarana is a key plot device in the ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'' episodes "Excitable Chap" and "From Murdoch to Eternity", in which inventor James Pendrick creates an energy drink from a particularly potent strain of guarana, which is ultimately plowed under to make way for the [[Panama Canal]].

== See also ==

* [[Guaraná Antarctica]] &ndash; guaraná flavored soft drink from Brazil

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons+cat|Paullinia cupana|Paullinia_cupana}}
{{Wikispecies|Paullinia cupana}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131150/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl?Paullinia%20cupana Guarana at USDA database]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q209089}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Guarana| ]]
[[Category:Paullinia]]
[[Category:Herbal and fungal stimulants]]
[[Category:Trees of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Trees of Brazil]]
[[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]]
[[Category:Crops originating from Brazil]]
[[Category:Tropical agriculture]]