Bad memory improves with guarana seed extract
Guarana contains a substance called guaranine, which acts much like a safer, yet more potent, version of what is typically referred to as caffeine. Guarana is found in nature as a flowering vine native to Brazil, where it grows along the Amazon River. Its properties were known as far back as the 1600s, when Native Amazonian tribes were known to use the seeds as a brain stimulant in medicines, beverages, topical treatments, and food.
Caffeine can be found inside nuts that produce guaranine and no one has successfully separated guaranine and caffeine. For that reason, guaranine is often confused with caffeine, though the latter is derived from different parts of the plant and is dissimilar in strength as well as effects.
Just as scientists are hard-pressed to identify a difference between natural and synthetic versions of the same vitamins while the human body can make the distinction, the body is likewise able to distinguish between caffeine and the natural substance guarana.
Through modern research, scientists now know that guarana contains greater amounts of natural stimulant than any other plant found anywhere in the world. Its memory-enhancing benefits are due to its natural stimulant component being bound to tannins and vegetable proteins.
In addition to a unique, natural caffeine-like stimulant, guarana contains theophylline, theobromine, and tannic acid in significant amounts, which may contribute to its effectiveness. Guarana is also rich in saponins, which help to boost the immune system and ward off serious diseases, such as cancer – a beneficial side effect of using guarana to improve memory.
Numerous studies have shown that guarana seed extract appears to improve short-term memory. In one such study, subjects who were administered 75 mg of guarana extract exhibited improved scores on working memory tests for as long as 6 hours after taking the stimulant.
It is believed that guarana enabled the study’s subjects to focus more attentively and recall short-term information more readily. A 75-mg dosage of guarana extract contains only about 9 mg of caffeine as a stimulant, so the typical caffeine-related side effects are unlikely.
In 2007, a double-blind study by the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit using rats compared the behavioral effects of the animals following administration of guarana extract in three dosage groups: 37.5 mg, 75 mg, 150 mg, and 150 mg.
The results of the four-phase study showed that guarana improves memory retention as well as physical endurance compared with rats provided with a placebo. In fact, the two lower doses showed better cognitive improvement than the higher doses, suggesting that in the case of guarana extract supplements, less is more.
Improvements in memory, mood and alertness supported findings of an earlier study that looked at cognitive improvements following a 75 mg dose of guarana.
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