Guarana and Gurana Extract:Phytochemicals,Botanical Info and History.

Contents

• Basic Botanical info of Guarana.
• Phytochemicals and constituents of Guarana.
• Guarana Plantation and Habitat.
• Facts,Properties,Available forms:Guarana.
• Uses Guarana.
• Theory and Scientific Support of Guarana.
• History of Use with Natives:Guarana.
• Guarana Brief Summary.
• Research Update:Paullinia cupana or Guarana.

Uses Guarana.:

Sticks were initially used by Indians, who grated the stick using the sharp, rasp like, tongue of the Pirarucu fish. The grated powder was then mixed into a drink with water and sugar.

 The sticks are also used by the Satar Maw tribe and its descendants who use it to make moulded figures, which are a popular item with tourists.

 The powder is widely available and can be mixed with water or fruit juice and some sugar in the same way.

 In Europe, guarana was first marketed as an alternative, medicinal plant from the Amazon, beneficial to the overall health and the powder for was (and still is) sold in health shops.

 Some retailers promote it as an afrodisiac, however, there is not much evidence for this at the moment.

 More recently, guarana has been discovered as an alternative smart drug in the house/rave scene and some (expensive) drinks have come on the market. These drinks bear, as far as I have experienced, no resemblance with the Brazilian style softdrink. Some see guarana as mind expanding, but the only effect it has is similar to that of caffeine. A strong cup of coffee would probably provide more caffeine at a lower price.

 Guarana chewing gum is available, sometimes referred to as "Buzz Gum", adverstised as giving you extra energy.

 Even guarana cigarettes were seen, with a logo that resembles a hemp plant on the packet. This is a very strange use of guarana and it is doubtful that it will have either the suggested 'mind altering' effect or be much beneficial to ones health. If someone does know more about this, please let me know.

 The syrup is used for the manufacture of carbonated soft drinks, which are very popular in Brazil. It is usually one of the things Brazilians miss when they are abroad.

 This variety is what inspired these pages, so they might be slightly biased to the soft drinks.


 Tribal and Herbal Medicine Uses:

 The uses of this plant by the Amerindians predates the discovery of Brazil. South American Indian tribes (especially the Guaranis, from whence the plant's name is derived) dry and roast the seeds and mix them into a paste with water. They then use it much the same way as chocolate - to prepare various foods, drinks, and medicines. The rainforest tribes have used guarana mainly as a stimulant and as an astringent (drying agent) for treating chronic diarrhea. It is often taken during periods of fasting to tolerate dietary restrictions better. Botanist James Duke cites past and present tribal uses in the rainforest: as a preventive for arteriosclerosis; as an effective cardiovascular drug; as an pain-reliever, astringent, stimulant, and tonic used to treat diarrhea, hypertension, fever, migraine, neuralgia, and dysentery.

 Over centuries the many benefits of guarana have been passed on to explorers and settlers. European researchers began studying guarana (in France and Germany) in the 1940s, finding that Indians' uses to cure fevers, headaches, cramps, and as an energy tonic were well-founded. Guarana is used and well known for its stimulant and thermogenic action. In the United States today, guarana is reputed to increase mental alertness, fight fatigue, and increase stamina and physical endurance. Presently, guarana is taken daily as a health tonic by millions of Brazilians, who believe it helps overcome heat fatigue, combats premature aging, detoxifies the blood, and is useful for intestinal gas, obesity, dyspepsia, fatigue, and arteriosclerosis. The plant, considered an adaptogen, is also used for heart problems, fever, headaches, migraine, neuralgia, and diarrhea. Guarana has been used in body care products for its tonifying and astringent properties, and to reduce cellulite. Guarana also has been used as an ingredient in shampoos for oily hair and as a ingredient in hair-loss products. In Peru the seed is used widely for neuralgia, diarrhea, dysentery, fatigue, obesity, cellulite, heart problems, hypertension, migraine, and rheumatism.

 Today the plant is known and used worldwide (and is the main ingredient in the "national beverage" of Brazil: Guarana Soda!). Eighty percent of the world's commercial production of guarana paste is in the middle of the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil-still performed by the Guarani Indians, who wild-harvest the seeds and process them into paste by hand. The Brazilian government has become aware of the importance of the local production of guarana by traditional methods employed by indigenous inhabitants of the rainforest. Since 1980, FUNAI (the National Indian Foundation) has set up a number of projects to improve the local production of guarana. Now, under the direction of the FUNAI regional authority in Manaus, many cooperatives in the rainforest support indigenous tribal economies through the harvesting and production of guarana.

 Main Actions (in order): stimulant, antioxidant, memory enhancer, nervine (balances/calms nerves), cardiotonic (tones, balances, strengthens the heart)


 Main Uses and brief Claims:

 Promotes weight loss
 Suppresses appetite
 as a caffeine stimulant for energy
 as a weight loss aid (suppresses appetite and increases fat-burning)
 for headaches and migraines
 to tone, balance, and strengthen the heart, as a blood cleanser, and to reduce/prevent sticky blood and blood clots
 as a refrigerant (lowers body temperature) to prevent overheating and heat stroke
 Increases energy levels / Reduces fatigue
 Enhances physical and mental performance

 Properties/Actions Documented by Research: analgesic (pain-reliever), antibacterial, antioxidant, hyperglycemic, memory enhancer, nervine (balances/calms nerves), neurasthenic (reduces nerve pain), platelet aggregation inhibitor (to prevent clogged arteries), stimulant, vasodilator

 Other Properties/Actions Documented by Traditional Use: anticoagulant (blood thinner), antiseptic, aphrodisiac, appetite suppressant, astringent, blood cleanser, cardiotonic (tones, balances, strengthens the heart), carminative (expels gas), central nervous system stimulant, digestive stimulant, diuretic, hypotensive (lowers blood pressure), laxative, menstrual stimulant, thermogenic (increases fat-burning)


 Worldwide Ethnomedical Uses:

 Amazonia: for arteriosclerosis, blood cleansing, cramps, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, fasting, fatigue, fever, headache, heart support, intestinal gas, malaria, obesity, and as a stimulant, aphrodisiac, and astringent

 Brazil: for constipation, convalescence, central nervous system stimulation, depression, diarrhea, digestive problems, dysentery, exhaustion, fasting, fatigue, fever, gastrointestinal problems, headache, heart support, heat stress, intellect, intestinal gas, jet lag, lumbago, malaria, memory enhancement, menstrual problems, migraine, nervous asthenia, nervousness, neuralgia, rheumatism, skin disorders, stress, water retention. weakness, and as an adaptogen, aphrodisiac, antiseptic, appetite suppressant, and stimulant

 Canada: for fever, libido enhancement, nervous disorders, and as a stimulant and tonic

 Europe: for depression, diarrhea, exhaustion, fatigue, heart support, headache, migraine, nervous disorders, neuralgia, vaginal discharge, water retention, and as a stimulant and tonic

 Latin America: for diarrhea, fatigue, hangovers, headaches and as a stimulant

 Mexico: for diarrhea and as a stimulant

 Peru: for cellulite, convalescence, diarrhea, dysentery, fatigue, fever, heart support, hypertension, migraine, nerve support, neuralgia, obesity, paralysis, rheumatism, and as an aphrodisiac, astringent, stimulant, tonic

 South America: for arteriosclerosis, bowel problems, diarrhea, fever, heart support, nerve support, pain, and as an aphrodisiac, stimulant, tonic

 U.S.: for appetite suppression, athletic enhancement, concentration, diarrhea, endurance, exhaustion, fatigue, headaches, mental depression or irritation, migraine, nerve support, obesity, PMS, vaginal discharge, water retention, and as an aphrodisiac, stimulant, tonic


 Elsewhere: for convalescence, diarrhea, debility, dysentery, headache, lumbago, migraine, nerves, neuralgia, pain, rheumatism, water retention, and as an aphrodisiac, astringent, stimulant, tonic

Reference:

• 1.Guarana and Gurana Extract:Phytochemicals,Botanical Info and History.

This article written and edited via herbalist of MDidea Extracts Professional. They run a range of online descriptions about this herb,including general information related and summarized updating discoveries from findings of professional scientisits this field related.Describe style aimed to form a useful detecting literature space where the intertwined threshold and related questions raise out and visualize themselves.

♣ last edit date:22nd,Oct.2010.