Caffeine

Abstract

Caffeine is a kind of xanthine alkaloid and mainly found in coffee, tea, Paraguay Holly (Mate), and the fruit or leaf taken from guarana. Caffeine shows the function of dispelling fatigue and exciting nerve. The commonly used clinical preparations include caffeine sodium benzoate and ergotamine caffeine. The adverse reactions include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fatigue. Overdose of caffeine will cause damage to the human body. Due to addiction at high dose, caffeine is included in the scope of controlled psychotropic drugs. Caffeine is mainly metabolized in the liver, and only 1-5% of it is excreted as metabolites through urine. Theobromine is the main active metabolite of caffeine and reported to cause activities in the cardiovascular system.