Transcript The effect of guarana versus caffeine on the resting

The effect of guarana versus
caffeine on fat oxidation in
healthy college students
Corrine A., Christine C., Veronica G.,
Jacqueline J., Lauren M., Emily S., & Tim W.
Guarana (Paullinia Cupana)
Background
Traditionally used as a
tonic for:
 Heat fatigue
 Migraine
 Diarrhea
 Hypertension
Currently used as a
supplement for:
 Stamina
 General stimulant
Guaranine = Caffeine
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Guaranine / Guarana
Caffeine / Coffee
Theine / Tea
contains 5-10%
naturally occurring
caffeine
guaranine is modified
by other components of
guarana
Guarana
 guarana
contains : threophylline &
theobromine
 guarana is rich in seed fiber, tannins
and saponins
 These compounds are said to be
released slowly over 6 hours
 Guarana toxic at doses @ 10 grams
Hypothesis
 Due
to the synergistic effect of
guarana’s main constituents, we
speculate that an equivalent dose of
guaranine will
fat oxidation for a
longer amount of time than caffeine
Purpose
To determine if supplementation with
guarana will increase fat oxidation for a
greater amount of time than caffeine in
healthy inviduals in a resting state.
Methods
 Controlled
clinical trial
 Crossover design
 6 subjects (1 male & 5 females)
 Similar breakfast consumed before
study
 RER measured w/ Metabolic Cart
 Baseline RER measured
Methods
 250
mg capsule of guarana (90 mg
caffeine)
 200 mg No Doz split in half (~90 mg
caffeine)
 RER measured every hour for 5 hours
 No food or drink (except water)
 Mean and standard deviation calculated
Results
The mean RER of Guarana and Caffeine
during 5 hours of rest
Guarana
Caffeine
Hour
Mean
St Dev.
Mean
St Dev.
Baseline
0.87
 0.036
0.89
 0.096
1
0.83
 0.049
0.84
 0.076
2
0.81
 0.034
0.80
 0.061
3
0.79
 0.047
0.77
 0.040
4
0.74
 0.033
0.76
 0.048
5
0.74
 0.020
0.76
 0.062
Results
The effect of guarana vs caffeine on RER
over time
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
RER 0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Guarana
Caffeine
0
1
2
3
Time (hours)
4
5
Discussion
4
out of the 6 subjects demonstrated
the expected results, although to only a
small degree
 Insufficient evidence to conclude that
guarana encourages fat metabolism for
a longer time than caffeine
 No difference between guarana &
caffeine OR poor study design?
Limitations
 Small
sample size
 Subjects not blinded
 Study not long enough
 Food as a confounder
– dinner the night before
– breakfast
– fast
 Residual
caffeine from decaf coffee
Limitations
 Purity
of guarana capsule
 Additives in No Doz
 Menstrual cycle as possible confounder
 Differences in lean body mass
 Habitual caffeine use
 Movie induced giggling / stress
Conclusions
 A large
difference between guarana and
caffeine was not observed
 A more controlled trial could provide
more reliable results
 More time required to observe trends
Thank you!
Questions???