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Positive and negative substances in guarana
Hrdinová, Lucie ; Vitoulová, Eva (referee) ; Hrstka, Miroslav (advisor)
This bachelor work theoretically describes Southern American plant named guarana (Paullinia cupana), its history, cultivation and traditional preparation. The work deals with effects of significant alkaloids (caffeine, theophylline, theobromine), tannins and saponins included in guarana, as well as general activity of guarana seeds. Contemporary studies are in agreement with strong antibacterial and antioxidant effects of guarana seed extracts, genotoxic and mutagenic activity of guarana in prokaryotic organisms and toxic affects on dogs, which are extremely sensitive on methylxanthines. In studies on human volunteers there was not shown any adverse effects, but there were recorded some cases of new-onset seizures in adults following heavy consumption of energy drinks, rich in caffeine, taurine, and guarana seed extract. The studies generally proved helpful activity against obesity and positive influence on lipids metabolism. There were confirmed positive psychoactive and mild antidepressant effects of guarana as well as adstringent, lipolytic and gastroprotective properties.
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