Energy drinks (EDs) have increased in popularity and are now consumed by 30%-50% of
adolescents (ie, aged 10-19 years) and young adults.
1
It is now estimated that 31% of 12- to 19-year old adolescents regularly consume
EDs.
2
,
3
Alcohol mixed with energy drinks has also become increasingly popular among adolescents
and college students.
3
,
4
EDs mainly differ from other soft and sports drinks regarding their high caffeine
content and their promotion as a means to relieve fatigue and improve physical and
cognitive performance. The problem with ED consumption is that these beverages often
contain high amounts of labeled and even masked caffeine, as well as other substances
such as guarana, ginseng, and taurine in variable quantities, which may generate uncertain
interactions.
5
,
6
,
7
Guarana (Paullinia cupana of the Sapindaceae family) is a Brazilian plant containing “guaranine,” which is
nothing more than caffeine, in about twice the concentration of the caffeine found
in coffee beans (about 2%-4% caffeine in guarana seeds compared with 1%-2% in coffee
beans).
8
According to the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, guaranine is only defined
as the caffeine chemical in guarana, which is identical to the caffeine chemical derived
from other sources, such as coffee, tea, and yerba mate. Therefore, guaranine, theine,
and mateine are all synonyms for caffeine.
9
Conversely, ginseng, the extract of 3 similar species of the genus Panax (Panax ginseng, P quinquefolius, and P japonicus), exerts its stimulating effects through a mixture of ginsenosides, polysaccharides,
peptides, polyacetylenic alcohols, and fatty acids.
10
The major active components of ginseng are ginsenosides, which act on several different
tissues and cells and produce a kaleidoscope of biological effects. Taurine is an
amino acid that exerts a number of physiological functions, including cell volume
regulation and inhibitory neuromodulation. It was also evaluated as a potential pharmacologic
agent in many pathologic states, but there is scant evidence so far to corroborate
this hypothesis. Although its properties have been only partially explored, taurine
and many of its derivatives have been proposed in several “energizing” compounds,
including EDs.
11
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 26, 2015
Accepted:
December 15,
2014
Received:
December 10,
2014
Footnotes
See 574 page for disclosure information.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
