Guaraná (/ɡwəˈrɑːnə/ from the Portugueseguaraná[ɡʷaɾɐˈna];Paullinia cupana,syns.P. crysan, P. sorbilis) is aclimbing plant in the familySapindaceae, native to theAmazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has large leaves and clusters offlowers, and is best known for the seeds from its beans, which are about the size of a coffee bean.
As adietary supplement orherb, guaraná seed is an effectivestimulant:[1] it contains about twice the concentration ofcaffeine found incoffee beans (about 2–8% caffeine in guaraná seeds,[2] compared to about 1–3% for coffee beans).[3] The additive has gained notoriety for being used inenergy drinks. As with other plants producing caffeine, the high concentration of caffeine is a defensivetoxin that repels insects from the berry and seeds.[4]
The color of the fruit ranges from brown to red and it contains blackseeds that are partly covered by whitearils.[5] The color contrast when the fruit is split open has been compared with the appearance of eyeballs,[5] and has become the basis of anorigin myth among theSateré-Mawé people.[6]
The wordguaraná has its origins in theSateré-Maué word for the plant,warana.[7]
Guaraná plays an important role inTupi and Guarani culture. According to a myth attributed to the Sateré-Maué tribe, guaraná's domestication originated with adeity killing a beloved village child. To console the villagers, a more benevolent god plucked the left eye from the child and planted it in the forest, resulting in the wild variety of guaraná. The god then plucked the right eye from the child and planted it in the village, giving rise to domesticated guaraná.[5][8]
TheGuaranis make aherbal tea calledcupana[9] by shelling, washing and drying the seeds, followed by pounding them into a fine powder. The powder is kneaded into a dough and then shaped into cylinders. This product is known as guaraná bread, which is grated and then immersed into hot water along with sugar.[10]
This plant was introduced to European colonizers and to Europe in the16th century by Felip Betendorf,Oviedo,Hernández,Cobo and other Spaniard chroniclers.[citation needed] It has since been used, refined, adapted and commercialized by settlers, folklorists, food scientists, and marketers.[11]
According to the Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, guaranine (better known ascaffeine) is found in guaraná and is identical to caffeine derived from other sources, likecoffee,tea,kola nut, andIlex. Guaranine, theine, and mateine are all synonyms for caffeine when the definitions of those words include none of the properties and chemicals of their host plants except caffeine.[12]
The table below contains a partial listing of some of the chemicals found in guaraná seeds,[16][17] although other parts of the plant also may contain them in varying quantities.
A partial list of the components of guaraná seeds.[16][17]
Brazil, the third-largest consumer ofsoft drinks in the world,[21] produces several soft drink brands from the seeds of guaraná.[5][22] Afermented drink is also prepared from guaraná seeds,cassava and water. Paraguay is also a producer of guaraná soft drinks with several brands operating in its market. The wordguaraná is widely used in Brazil, Peru and Paraguay as a reference to soft drinks containing guaraná extract.[citation needed]
Guaraná is a key plot device in theMurdoch Mysteries episodes "Excitable Chap" and "From Murdoch to Eternity", in which inventor James Pendrick creates an energy drink from a particularly potent strain of guaraná, which is ultimately plowed under to make way for thePanama Canal.
^Prance G, Nesbitt M, eds. (2004).Cultural History of Plants. New York: Routledge. p. 179.
^"guarana".Merriam Webster.Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved2007-09-18.
^Beck H (2004). "10 Caffeine, Alcohol, and Sweeteners". In Ghillean Prance, Mark Nesbitt (eds.).Cultural History of Plants. New York: Routledge. p. 179.ISBN978-0-415-92746-8.
^"Caffeine". Biological Magnetic Resonance Data Bank, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archived fromthe original on 2007-11-24. Retrieved2007-09-19.
^Balentine D, Harbowy M, Graham H (1998). "Tea: the Plant and its Manufacture; Chemistry and Consumption of the Beverage". In Spiller G (ed.).Caffeine. CRC Press.doi:10.1201/9781420050134.ch3 (inactive 12 July 2025).ISBN978-0-8493-2647-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
^abDuke JA (1992).Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants. Boca Raton: CRC Press.ISBN978-0-8493-3672-0.OCLC25874249.
