Hi,
I'm new here - although I've been a "lurker" for probably over a year now. I'm just wondering if anyone knows how much caffeine 1500 mg of Guarana is equivalent to? I bought a drink called "Guarana Rain" which claims to have no caffeine, only "natural guarana" of 1500 mg. Anybody know what that equates to or, moreover, has anybody tried this drink? Thanks for your help. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Depends on the standardisation of the Guarana used. It usually ranges from 8% to 22%. The label sometimes says it. I'm guessing they're in the 8% to 10% range, so probably 120mg to 150mg caffeine.

Guarana is more potent than Caffiene. Granted, it does determain if you are using the juice for flavor, or the actually nut-like seed and extracting the "caffiene". But an 80mg. serving of Guarana would equal 200 mgs of regular caffiene.

If that was correct, the 1500mg of Guarana in that drink would equal 3750mg of Caffeine. Enough to send someone to the ER. That doesn't make any sense.

First of all, 80mg of something cannot contain 200mg of something else. As far as potency equivalence, Caffeine belongs to a family of chemicals called Xanthines. Guarana contains a form of Xanthine that is extremely similar but not identical to Caffeine. The difference is negligible which is why most people say that Gurana contains Caffeine, and some people say it's a bit more potent.

What's used in energy drinks is Guarana Seed Extract. The extract has a standarization percentage and that percentage is the amount of Caffeine contained in the Guarana.

I know there is a difference between the two. But you can compare. 80 mgs. of Guarana is equivilent to 200 mgs. of caffiene. But if a drink is asying 1500 mgs. of Guarana, then it is probably talking about the berry juice and not the stimulant.

Thanks guys, though I'm still not sure I understand exactly how much caffeine it would be equivalent to. I did drink it this morning, though, and noticed it did say Guarana Extract 1500 mg - not sure if that's any different. However, I'm very small (about 100 lbs), so a little caffeine goes a long way on me. So far, I don't feel jittery or shaky like I usually do, but I wonder if that's because it's purely Guarana and no caffeine? Oh well, just curious.

Call them up and ask them what percentage Guarana Extract they use. The lowest I've seen so for was 8%. If they're using 8% standardized your drink contains 120mg of Caffeine.

I did actually call them up - they said the amount of guarana extract they used (1500 mg) is equivalent to 65 mg of caffeine. This was in a 12 oz. can, which I haven't seen many energy drinks in, and was partly why I bought it. 16 ounces is too much caffeine for me, but I can't stand shelling out that much money for an 8 ounce can.

Originally posted by jacksmom:
I did actually call them up - they said the amount of guarana extract they used (1500 mg) is equivalent to 65 mg of caffeine. This was in a 12 oz. can, which I haven't seen many energy drinks in, and was partly why I bought it. 16 ounces is too much caffeine for me, but I can't stand shelling out that much money for an 8 ounce can.

You shouldn't judge an energy drink by it's size or cost. You should judge it by it's potency and its effectiveness.
I could give you 24oz of a drink with 3 servings, 32g of sugar per serving and some caffiene for $1.59 but that doesn't make it a good drink.

One also has to remember how differently different people can process guarana in their bodies. Caffeine can affect people in different ways, and guarana is the same way.