Facts about Caffeine:

Caffeine Other Names: 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, trimethylxanthine, theine, methyltheobromine

Chemical Formula: C8H10N4O2

Chemical Structure:

Facts about Caffeine:

• Caffeine is a bitter white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a psychoactive stimulant drug and a mild diuretic in humans and other animals.

• Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819.

• Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruit of over 60 plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants. (Caffeine (Molicule))

• It takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body and a mild dose wears off in three to four hours.

• Caffeine is rapidly absorbed from your gastrointestinal tract into your bloodstream (Caffeine (Molecule))

•Peak concentration is reached after about 40-60 minutes. It is then distributed throughout the entire body, including the brain, and appears in all bodily fluids, including saliva and breast milk (Caffeine (Molicule))

• In adults, the elimination half-life of caffeine -- the time it takes for half of the caffeine to be eliminated from the body -- is around 3-6 hours. This time is increased during pregnancy and decreased in smokers (Caffeine (Molecule))