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Guarana Herb - Uses And Side Effects

Various cultures have used guarana, partly for its high caffeine content (which exceeds that of coffee or tea). In the 19th century, the French popularized a guarana drink. Others have mixed it with alcohol for a unique beverage.

Guarana is a dried paste made from the crushed seeds of Paul/inia cupana (also called P. sorbilis), a woody vine or shrub native to Brazil and the Amazon basin. During guarana processing, small particles of the seed husk remain in the final product, giving the herb a bitter, chocolate-like taste. The plant is cultivated widely because of its market value as a caffeine source and an ingredient in soft drinks, nutritional supplements, and medicinal products.

In Central and South America, parts of the guarana plant are used to poison fish. The Amazon Indians crush the seeds and combine them with cassava flour to make a paste. They roll the paste into sticks, dry them, and grind them on a bone inside the tongue of a large fish or on a stone, making a powder that they mix with water and drink.

Many South Americans still consume guarana daily. The herb is a main ingredient in several herbal weight-loss products and soft drinks. The Food and Drug Administration considers guarana a safe food additive.

Common doses of guarana

nutritional supplements, candies, and chewing gum. Guarana also comes as teas, alcoholic extracts, elixirs, capsules, and tablets of various strengths.

The dose depends on the product and batch. Single doses commonly contain 200 to 800 milligrams of guarana. Daily intake of guarana shouldn't exceed 3 grams of guarana powder or its equivalent taken orally.

A maximum daily caffeine intake of approximately 250 milligrams (3 to 5 gr.ams of guarana) has been suggested for nonpregnant adults. Daily doses of up to I gram of caffeine have been used without side effects, although some people have withdrawal symptoms when they stop using the herb.

Uses of guarana herb

Guarana is a high energy source that increases mental alertness, fights fatigue, slows the pulse, decreases the appetite, and is an excellent mood elevator. This herb can also be used as a nervine tonic for hangovers, menstrual headaches, and neuralgia. Specifically, guarana may help to :-

• As an aprodisiac
• Diarrhea
• Itchy skin
• To aid weight loss and body-building
• To curb the appetite
• To prevent dysentery
• To prevent malaria
• To stimulate the nervous system

Side effects of guarana

Call your health care practitioner if you experience any of these possible side effects of guarana:

• increased urine formation and excretion
• insomnia.

Excessively large guarana doses can cause:

• agitation
• nausea
• anxiety
• rapid pulse
• seizures
• headache
• tremors
• irregular heartbeats
• vomiting.
• irritability

Taking more than 1 gram of caffeine may cause toxic symptoms, such as agitation, irritability, tremors, irregular heartbeats, and seizures. An oral dose of 5 to 10 grams of caffeine may cause death.

Abrupt withdrawal after regular daily consumption of guarana may lead to anxiety, headache, and irritability.

Interactions

Combining herbs with certain drugs may alter their action or produce unwanted side effects. Tell your health care practitioner about any prescription or nonprescription drugs you're taking, especially:

• Adenocard
• Antabuse
• antibiotics called fluoroquinolones, such as Cipro, Floxin, NegGram, or Noroxin
• birth-control pills
• heart drugs called beta blockers, such as Inderal
• iron (wait 1 hour after meals before taking guarana)
• Lithobid
• Neo-Synephrine
• Tagamet
• Theo-Dur (don't use guarana when taking this drug)
• tobacco.

Important paints to remember

• Don't use this herb if you're pregnant or breast-feeding.
• Avoid guarana or consult your health care practitioner about using it if you have heart or blood vessel disease, stomach ulcers, chronic headache, or diabetes.
• If you're taking Theo-Dur, seek medical advice before using guarana.
• If you have irregular heartbeats, know that guarana and other caffeine-containing products can worsen your symptoms.
• Reduce your guarana intake if you have symptoms of excessive caffeine use tremors, irritability, headache, and palpitations.
• Be aware that guarana may worsen high blood pressure, hiatal hernia, acid reflux disease, and peptic ulcer disease.

What the research shows

Although guarana is probably as safe as coffee, tea, and colas, it may provide unwanted extra caffeine. Many products, including weight-loss and body-building supplements, contain guarana as an unlisted ingredient. Guarana elixirs may contain more caffeine than powdered guarana products.

Other names for guarana: -

Other names for guarana include Brazilian cocoa, guarana gum, guarana paste, and zoom.

Products containing guarana are sold under such names Guarana Plus, Guarana Rush, Happy Motion, Superguarana, and Zoom.