What are the active ingredients in Red Bull and what effect do they have on the human body?
Red Bull contains several ingredients that are known to have effects on human performance, including taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, B vitamins, and glucose (C. Alford et al., 2000). Taurine is an amino acid that affects the metabolism. It is an inhibitory neurotransmitter and has the ability to stabilize nerve cell membranes, making it a useful treatment for epilepsy and other excitable brain states (http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?ID=1971). According to Garcia de Yebenes Prous et al. (1978), taurine also interferes with motor behavior and temperature regulation and inhibits firing on brain stem, spinal cord, and cerebral cortex neurons. Additionally, as reported by Alford et al. (2003), taurine is known to affect mood (Mandel et al., 1985) as well as stress and behavior (Belfer et al., 1998; Milakofsky et al., 1993; Yamamoto et al., 1985). Glucuronolactone is a naturally occurring metabolite formed from glucose in the liver (Finnegan, 2003). As reported by Alford et al.,
