Is the caffeine from the guarana in Catuama detrimental?
We cannot say that caffeine is bad, but it needs to be used in moderate quantities. Goodman & Gilman say that quantities up to 300mg daily are acceptable. Other sources mention quantities up to 1200mg daily. Caffeine, however, is addictive and its regular use in high quantities can cause disturbances of the CNS, such as sleeplessness, restlessness and excitation. One capsule of contains 40mg of caffeine, comparable to a cup of green tea or cup of coffee. A daily dose of 2 capsules would mean an intake of 80mg of caffeine which is far below the acceptable daily doses. More importantly, the caffeine in Catuama comes from guarana and is therefore a natural caffeine (the extract produced is not spiked with artificial caffeine), which has fewer side effects than artificial caffeine or the caffeine in coffee. Besides, some studies indicate that the activity of caffeine from guarana, in contrast to that of pure or artificial caffeine, is more gradual due to its binding with tannins (= guarani
