Plant Stimulants: Caffeine Flashcards
When did global oceanic explorations introduce a number of plant stimulants to Europe including tobacco and caffeinated beverages?
1400s.
Where was coffee, tea, and chocolate from respectively?
Arabian region, China, and South America
Which beverages contain the following percent of caffeine respectively?:
1) Coffee
2) Tea
3) Cola
4) Mate
5) Guarana
6) Cocoa
1) 1-2% caffeine (seeds)
2) 1-4% caffeine (leaves)
3) 2-3% caffeine, and 1-2.5% theobromine (seeds)
4) 0.8-1.3% caffeine (leaves)
5) 4-6% caffeine (seeds)
6) 3% theobromine (seeds)
What is caffeine?
A trimethylxanthine alkaloid with mild diuretic and stimulant properties.
What is theobromine?
A similar secondary product found in chocolate and cola, is a stronger diuretic.
What may caffeine be important in acting as based on studies done in 1973?
A calming agent. The 1973 experiment showed caffeine to calm an overactive child and offers a less expensive treatment and fewer side effects that methylphenidate (Ritalin), and related amphetamine drugs.
What supports the idea that caffeine may be a calming agent?
Studies of SA children who drink mate rarely show hyperactivity. Low levels of hyperactivity in adults is linked to increase coffee consumption in NA.
How would one describe the plant “coffee” or coffea arabica?
A small tree native to the highlands of Ethiopia.
What is the fruit of coffee?
A two-seeded tree berry.
Which part of the fruit is extracted?
The seeds of the fruit are extracted, known as the coffee beans, then fermented, dried and roasted.
Where does the coffee plant have a long history of cultivation as a beverage and medicinal plant?
Ethiopia and the Arabian peninsula.
When was coffee introduced to Europe and by whom?
In 1615 by Venetian merchants, and by 1650s, a large number of coffee houses had been established in London, Paris, and other major European cities.
How would one describe tea or camellia sinensis?
As a large shrub native to Southeast Asia, and has long been cultivated in China.
Where is tea grown most widely today?
China, Japan, India, and Sri Lanka.
How far back does evidence date as far as using tea as a beverage?
3000 years ago in China.
When was the habit of drinking tea introduced to Europe and by whom?
In the early 1600s by the Portuguese, and for a time the Dutch monopolized the European tea trade.
Who dominated the green tea trade after the Dutch?
British.
When was over 20 million pounds of tea shipped to England annually and exported to other countries?
1790s.
How is tea produced?
From the new, young leaves of the plant, which are hand harvested.
What is done to the tea shrubs in order to facilitate havering and promote new growth?
Pruned back regularly.
Where is green tea mainly consumed?
China and Japan.
How is green tea produced?
By partially shredding and quickly drying the fresh-picked leaves.
Where is black tea popular?
India, Europe, and North America.
How is black tea produced?
Freshly-picked leaves are slowly dried for one day, which initiates enzymatic processes. The partially dried leaves are then shredded, helping to oxidize the bitter leaf tannins and phenols as the leaves dry slowly under cool and damp conditions. The material is then quick-dries or fired, producing the characteristic dark color of black tea.
What is the Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis)?
A medium sized tree (15m in height), that produces mate a tea like beverage produced from the dried leaves of the tree.
