GUARANA
Product No. P0738
Also known as Paullinia Cupana.
Guarana is a climbing shrub that grows wild in the Amazon regions. Most modern commercial Guarana is grown on government plantations where the highest quality plants are harvested. In its original form, the vine grew to as much as 20 yards in height, supporting itself on other trees, and carrying its fruit in the canopy. It has now been hybridised
to a straggly bush, some 7 - 10 feet in height. Although there have been attempts to cultivate Guarana outside the
Rainforest, these have been only partially successful.
The Guarana fruit is harvested when ripe, after turning a bright red or yellow. The gathered fruit yields a small round
black seed which is crushed to form a paste containing a percentage of Guaranine (caffeine).
Guarana has been used for hundreds of years by Indians as a general tonic for the body and as a source of energy. Guarana
acts on the central nervous system to prevent fatigue and break down lactic acid from muscle stress.
Besides caffeine, Guarana contains a host of other xanthines. Theobromine and Theophylline are the primary xanthines,
acting as muscle relaxants and possessing diuretic properties.
Guarana consists of a crystallizable principle, called Guaranine, identical with caffeine, which exists in the seeds,
united with tannic acid, catechutannic acid starch, and a greenish fixed oil.
From the tannin it contains it is useful for mild forms of leucorrhoea, diarrhoea, etc., but its chief use in Europe
and America is for headache, especially if of a rheumatic nature. It is a gentle exciting and serviceable where the brain
is irritated or depressed by mental exertion, or where there is fatigue or exhaustion from hot weather. It has the same
chemical composition as caffeine, theine and cocaine, and the same physiological action. Its benefit is for nervous
headache or the distress that accompanies menstruation, or exhaustion following dissipation. It is not recommended for
chronic headache or in cases where it is not desirable to increase the temperature, or excite the heart or increase
arterial tension. Dysuria often follows its administration. It is used by the Indians for bowel complaints, but is not
indicated in cases of constipation or blood pressure.
In Europe, Guarana was first marketed as an alternative, medicinal plant from the Amazon, beneficial to the overall
health.
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