THEOBROMINE, THEOPHYLLINE, AND CAFFEINE IN 42 SAMPLES AND PRODUCTS OFGUARANA (PAULLINIA-CUPANA, SAPINDACEAE)

Guaranas, the carbonated beverages (sodas) of choice throughout much o f Brazil, are mandated by Brazilian law to contain at least 300 mg gua rana (Paullinia cupana, Sapindaceae) seed per 100 mi soda. Were all th e soda manufacturers adhering to the law, they would be consuming almo st three times the annual production of seed Guarana seeds contain unu sually high levels of caffeine, along with smaller. amounts of the rel ated purine alkaloids theobromine and theophylline. We investigated th e purine alkaloid content of three ethnobotanical guarana collections and 39 commercial products using HPLC/UV. Many of the products did con tain caffeine as the,major alkaloid, with traces of theobromine and th eophylline. Numerous sodas and syrups contained up to ten times more t heobromine than caffeine, and we suspect that these products were adul terated with cacao (Theobroma cacao, Sterculiaceae), the major source of theobromine.