Guaraná (/ɡwəˈrɑːnə/ from the Portuguese guaraná[ɡʷaɾɐˈna]; Paullinia cupana, 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 flowers, and is best known for the seeds from its fruits, which are about the size of a coffee bean.
As a dietary supplement or herb, guaraná seed is an effective stimulant:[1] it contains about twice the concentration of caffeine found in coffee beans (about 2–8% caffeine in guarana seeds,[2] compared to about 1–3% for coffee beans).[3] The additive has gained notoriety for being used in energy drinks. As with other plants producing caffeine, the high concentration of caffeine is a defensive toxin that repels insects from the berry and seeds.[4]
The color of the fruit ranges from brown to red and it contains black seeds that are partly covered by white arils.[5] The color contrast when the fruit is split open has been compared with the appearance of eyeballs,[5] and has become the basis of an origin myth among the Sateré-Mawé people.[6]
History and culture
The word guaraná comes from the Guaraní word guara-ná, which has its origins in the Sateré-Maué word for the plant, warana,[7] that in Guaraní means "fruit like the eyes of the people" or "eyes of the gods".[5]
Guaraná plays an important role in 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.[5][8]
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.[9]
This plant was introduced to European colonizers and to Europe in the 16th century by Felip Betendorf, Oviedo, Hernández, Cobo and other Spaniard chroniclers.[citation needed] It has since been used, refined, adapted and commercialized by settlers, folklorists, food scientists, and marketers.[10]
Composition
Guaraná fruitsRipe guaraná fruits resemble human eyes.[5]
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 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.[11]
The table below contains a partial listing of some of the chemicals found in guaraná seeds,[15][16] although other parts of the plant also may contain them in varying quantities.
A partial list of the components of guaraná seeds.[15][16]
Brazil, the third-largest consumer of soft drinks in the world,[20] produces several soft drink brands from the seeds of guaraná.[5][21] 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.[citation needed]
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.
^Prance G, Nesbitt M, eds. (2004). Cultural History of Plants. New York: Routledge. p. 179.
^"guarana". Merriam Webster. Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
^Beck H (2004). "10 Caffeine, Alcohol, and Sweeteners". In Ghillean Prance, Mark Nesbitt (eds.). Cultural History of Plants. New York: Routledge. p. 179. ISBN978-0-415-92746-8.
^"Caffeine". Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archived from the original on 2007-11-24. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
^Balentine D, Harbowy M, Graham H (1998). "Tea: the Plant and its Manufacture; Chemistry and Consumption of the Beverage". In Spiller G (ed.). Caffeine. CRC Press. doi:10.1201/9781420050134.ch3 (inactive 2024-11-11). ISBN978-0-8493-2647-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
^ abDuke JA (1992). Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN978-0-8493-3672-0. OCLC25874249.
