Paullinia cupana

This plant, whose common name is Guaraná, is held sacred by the Sateré Maué tribe in the Brazilian Amazon and has been cultivated by them for hundreds of years. Containing more caffeine than any plant in the world (2-5 times as much as coffee), Guaraná was traditionally their revered source for boosting energy while traversing the rainforest and waging war against distant enemies.

Several myths (collected by Medeiros Marques) in which this plant is a protagonist share a narrative in which a beloved boy (the son of Onhiámuaçabe) is murdered by a jealous, malevolent god. His eyes are buried by the villagers and his afflicted mother waters them with her tears. As a form of consolation, a benevolent god gives the people Guaraná: a wild plant grows from the left eye and a domesticated plant from the right.

The fruit does indeed resemble a human eyeball when it ripens and the red skin opens to expose an underlying white mesocarp that splits to reveal a black, iris-like seed.

To date, the most comprehensive overview of the pharmacological properties of Paullinia cupana is the one published in 2019 in the Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia by a team of Brazilian researchers headed by Leila Larisa Medeiros Marques.  Guaraná is cultivated and processed almost exclusively in Brazil, the production of which is estimated to be at least 4300 tons per year. The authors affirm that commercial demand for guaraná seeds for use in soft drinks and by pharmaceutical and cosmetic manufacturers has steadily risen in recent years. They also mention the fungal disease anthracnose as a threat to the production of P. cupana and discuss research that is being done regarding disease management. The review also documents research indicating that the high level of caffeine in energy drinks containing guaraná can produce adverse effects such as anxiety and disorders of the central nervous system and can also exacerbate epileptic seizures. Guaraná is being used by many as a way to control weight gain, and also has been found to have neuroprotective properties that may make it a “promising source of phytochemicals that can be used as an adjuvant therapy in the management of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.” Research conducted by the authors of the overview showed that guaraná extract has “both anxiolytic and panicolytic effects” that involve serotonergic, dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitters. Other studies demonstrate that guaraná has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.