Guarana Powder

Guarana (guarana) or “Paulinia cupana Kunth” (named after S. Pauli (1603-1680), a researcher of the flora of Denmark) is an evergreen creeping shrub from the Sapindaceae family Sapindaceae, growing in the Amazon River basin in Brazil and Venezuela.

Wild guarana can be found in various areas of the state of Amazonas in Brazil. But, for many years in such states as Brazil, Para, Goias and Mato Grosso, guarana has also been grown for industrial purposes.

Under favorable conditions, the guarana can climb to a height of up to ten meters. Its dark branches are framed by oval-shaped leaves with teeth at the edges and flowers on short cuttings collected in inflorescences. The plant begins to bear fruit only in the third year, in January or February. And from a five-year-old guarana bush, you can already collect about three kilograms of fruit.

The guarana fruit is usually yellow with a bright red tip, contains one or two smooth oval seeds about the size of a grape. It is these seeds, and not the pulp itself, that are the main product from which Brazilians prepare a drink. Therefore, to remove this pulp, the fruits are first soaked. After separating the juicy shell, the seeds are washed, dried, fried and ground into powder. Later, this powder containing caffeine is mixed with water, sometimes adding cocoa and cassava (a genus of plants in the Euphorbiaceae family, growing in the tropics of America).

Local Indians have been using guarana fruits for a long time to prepare not only a tonic, but also a medicinal drink.

Many adherents of the guarana drink note its medicinal properties, claiming that it is not just a tonic drink, but also a sedative that supports the work of the heart, as well as an effective medicine against arteriosclerosis. Guarana is also believed to help in the treatment of dysentery, migraines and neuralgia.

Guarana is often used in sports supplements, as a source of caffeine. Guarana gives energy, increases productivity, promotes mental concentration, accelerates the breakdown of fat. All the actions of guarana are due to caffeine and other methylxanthines.
The effect of guarana differs from caffeine in its longer duration and absence of peak concentration, which reduces the likelihood of most side effects.