Guarana
Guarana
Guarana is a climbing plant in the Sapindaceae family, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. About the size of a coffee berry, each Guarana fruit contains one seed, which contains approximately three times more caffeine than Coffee beans. The guarana fruit's color ranges from orange to red and contains black seeds which are partly covered by white arils. The color contrast when the fruit has been split open has been likened to eyeballs.
The main compound is Guaranine, which is chemically identical to caffeine. It is a popular alternative to coffee. Guarana is used in sweetened or carbonated soft drinks and energy shots, an ingredient of herbal tea or contained in capsules. Generally, while South America obtains most of its caffeine from Guarana, many other Western countries are beginning to witness use of Guarana in various energy and superfruit products.
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