The Common Chemical Species Of Coffee, Caffeine, Trigonelline And Chlorogenic Acids

Can someone tell me why they drink coffee? Well, most people think of it as a powerful drink that gives them energy whenever they need it. I am here to tell you that coffee works a lot differently than most of us think. It does something completely different than what you might expect to your body. And coffee is not the same for everyone, to some living things it’s even poisonous. Even its name is deceiving because coffee is not even a bean at all. I am not here to dissuade you from drinking coffee, but rather inform you about how coffee affects us and how our bodies deal with it. So next time when you chug down a cup you should know what you’re doing to your body.

Caffeine is a huge component in pre-workout supplements, and is probably the one ingredient that is most controversial. Chemically, caffeine does promote alertness and focus, but the long-term effects and other side effects are what scare most people away from taking additional caffeine to what many people already take on a daily basis. When someone gets tired, it is because of a chemical called adenosine. Adenosine builds up in the brain whenever you are awake, and it binds to adenosine receptors on brain cells. The binding of adenosine causes drowsiness by slowing down nerve cell activity. To a nerve cell, caffeine looks just like adenosine, so caffeine is able to bind to the adenosine receptors in your brain. However, caffeine does not slow down the cell’s activity like adenosine would. The cell cannot “see” adenosine anymore because caffeine is taking up all the receptors adenosine binds to,

Caffeine’s mental appeal is just as trendy as its physical purpose. Caffeine has been proven to stimulate the central nervous system. Caffeine stimulates the Central Nervous System at high levels, like the medulla and cortex, and even has the ability to reach the spinal cord in larger doses. The effect of caffeine in the cortex is a clearer thought process and also can rid the body of fatigue. This gives people a greater ability of concentration for 1-3 hours. For athletes competing in sports where quick thinking and rapid reactions are necessary, caffeine can provide a huge edge. However, these results are much more inconsistent than the experiments done on caffeine in endurance sports. (http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm)

Coffee is viewed as an unhealthy habit by most people similar to smoking and excessive drinking of alcohol. However most studies show that poor lifestyle factors such as reduced physical activity, smoking and eating a lot of whole grains result in health risks than coffee. This is to say that coffee consumption alone is not harmful to your health. Drinking six cups of coffee in a day could result in tremors, sleeping problems and feeling stressed. However, it has no direct effect on mortality or other health factors.

Caffeine is found in many plant species, where it acts as a natural pesticide. It is found most commonly in cocoa, tea and coffee, but is also artificially added to some soft drinks such as cola to act as a flavour enhancer. When consumed by humans, caffeine works as a stimulant causing amounts of released neurotransmitters to be increased. High use of caffeine has been related with raised blood pressure, restlessness, insomnia and anxiety which, in the long term, can lead to heart and circulation problems.

The health effects of caffeine have been extensively studied. The short term side effects of mild caffeine consumption have been identified as headaches, nausea and anxiety. The long term effects of moderate caffeine consumption have been identified as a reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, hepatic diseases and cardiovascular disease. The side effects that caffeine can have on people are both positive and negative.

Caffeine is demarcated as a drug because it arouses the central nervous system, causing increased alertness. Caffeine gives most people a temporary energy boost and elevates mood. That’s why everyone generally uses it for plenty of reasons mostly dealing with work or school. Some people use caffeinated energy drinks to improve their endurance while playing sports or to dance for long periods. That’s just the beginning, these are the things that caffeine does to the brain, heart, fetus, and body.

In general, caffeine alters the way our brain communicates to the central nervous system by imitating or changing the release and uptake of neurotransmitters. Caffeine is consumed to awaken and make people alert, however, there are other effects caffeine has on our body. Adenosine, the neurotransmitter that makes us tired, is just one neurotransmitter that is affected by caffeine consumption. For example, if the transmission of dopamine increases, caffeine improves our mood, and may even protect brain cells against age and disease (Weinberg & Bealer, 2015). In addition, if the activity of acetylcholine increases, caffeine increases muscular activity and potentially could improve long-term memory. And lastly, if the level of serotonin adjusts,

Caffeine Effects In The Brain Caffeine acts in a multitude of ways in the brain. The most recent studies explore the cooperative effects of adenosine and dopamine, as well as the increase in calcium in the interstitial fluid and possible accumulation of cyclic adenosine monophospate. The most popular discussions of earlier studies of caffeine demonstrate its antagonistic effects on adenosine receptors. While it has been reported that adenosine receptors are located throughout the brain, the various subtypes can be found in very specific areas.

Adenosine is another neurotransmitter; adenosine strongly inhibits serotonin release. Chronic caffeine use increases the number of adenosine receptors.(The body is trying to compensate for the constant presence of caffeine, which occupies and blockades adenosine receptors and thus interferes with adenosine reception.) When caffeine is withdrawn, however, the chronic caffeine user is left with too many adenosine receptors. Having too many adenosine receptors is equivalent to having too much adenosine. As a result, serotonin release is inhibited and this leads to migraine symptoms.

Caffeine has many negative effects on humans, such as increased heart rate (Lane, J.D., 2002), depression (Goldstein, 2008), and addiction to this “drug.” You may be asking yourself, “What is caffeine?” Well, caffeine is actually a stimulant (Barone, Roberts, 2008) that is found in beverages such as tea, coffee, and soft drinks. In fact, caffeine is the highest grossing and most used stimulant in the United States (Barone, Roberts, 2008). It is estimated that 85% of adults living in the United States consume caffeine on a daily basis (Barone, Roberts, 2008). That means for every 100 adults, 85 of them have had a drink that contained caffeine on any given day. One reason caffeine is so widely available compared to other stimulants is

Caffeine addiction has caused many people to gain more and more diseases throughout our nation. Caffeine, is a stimulant to the central nervous system, and regular use of caffeine does cause mild physical dependence. “The brain of people who consume caffeine can be addicted because it is used to operating in one set of conditions that depend on the ingestion of caffeine” (Stromberg). According to Stromberg, “Caffeine closely resembles a molecule that’s naturally present in our brain, called adenosine, Normally, the adenosine produced over time locks into these receptors and produces a feeling of tiredness.” When people decide to withdraw caffeine it usually gives them headaches, affect their sleeping behaviors, cause nausea, and feel flu like symptoms. According to Science behind food and cooking in the kitchen,“People have used caffeine since the Stone Age. Early people groups found that biting the seeds, bark, or leaves of specific plants had the impacts of facilitating weakness, empowering mindfulness, and hoisting mind-set. Just considerably later was it discovered that the impact of caffeine was expanded by soaking such plants in high temp water. Many societies have legends that characteristic the revelation of such plants to individuals living a huge number of years in the past. According to Newport Academy, “A lot of adults and teenagers consume coffee, tea or other caffeinated products without realizing that they’re chemically dependent on this substance. But if

Introduction Caffeine is a member of the class of compounds organic chemists call alkaloids. Alkaloids are nitrogencontaining basic compounds that are found in plants. They usually taste bitter and often are physiologically active in humans. The names of some of these compounds are familiar to you even if the structures aren’t: nicotine, morphine, strychnine, and cocaine. The role or roles these compounds play in the life of the plants in which they are found is not well understood. In some cases they may act as pesticides; nicotine is found in tobacco and has been sprayed onto other plants, in which it is not found, to function as an insecticide. The structure of caffeine is shown to the right. It

is derived from a bean or from tea leaves and can be found in the

According to Rob Knight, “People worldwide use nearly 7.2 billion kilograms (16 billion pounds) of coffee beans per year.” Coffee is very popular around the world for its aroma and rich flavor. The average coffee drinking American drinks three cups per day, as reported by Austin, Texas-based Coffee Research Institute. According to recent studies, coffee is very addictive and could lead to weight gain, but it also could protect against diseases and it has lots of antioxidants.