Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 21, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: January 15, 2000 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2000-0754.pr001
Preface
Caffeine-containing products have been consumed for hundreds of years for the delightful flavor and stimulating effects they possess. This group of products includes coffee, tea, and cocoa, as well as some less familiar products such as guaranâ and kola. The two most commonly consumed beverages in the world today are coffee and tea, which are produced by hot water extraction of the roasted bean and leaf respectively. The one common constituent they possess is caffeine, 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, a white crystalline solid mp 238° C. Caffeine is a stable compound that is not destroyed by the roasting of coffee, the fermentation or roasting of cocoa, or the fermenting or firing of tea.
Caffeine
According to the Merck Index, caffeine is a CNS stimulant, and acts as a diuretic. As will become evident from this volume, caffeinated products possess additional positive health benefits for humans such as antioxidant properties, as well as possible anticarcinogenic activity. The ubiquitous consumption of caffeinated products throughout the world attests to the power these products hold on humans. The symposium upon which this book is based was developed to explore recent advances in the flavor chemistry, physiological effects, and health benefits
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of caffeinated products. It is based on the four day symposium: Chemistry and Health Benefits of Caffeinated Beverages that was part of the 217 National American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in Anaheim, California, March 1999. It was the goal of the organizers to bring together world experts in the field of caffeinated products and to provide a forum for the discussion of modern advances in the field. This book represents the editors' efforts to produce a work detailing the current state of research covering caffeinated beverages. This book has been arranged into sections that cover the following topics. An introductory section introduces the topic of caffeinated beverages. The next section covers the physiological effects of caffeine and concludes that caffeine lacks addictive potential. The following three sections review the current state of the knowledge of the health benefits of these beverages and concludes that anticancer, antioxidative, and cardiovascular benefits may result from consumption. The book concludes with four sections on the chemistry of coffee, tea, and cocoa as well as methods of analysis of such products.
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 21, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: January 15, 2000 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2000-0754.pr001
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Acknowledgments The editors acknowledge with great appreciation the financial assistance from the following sponsors: ACS Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, The CocaCola Company, Kraft Foods, Lipton Company, M&M Mars, Ogawa & Company, and Takasago International. THOMAS H. PARLIMENT
Parliment Consulting 11 Hereford Lane New City, NY 10956 CHI-TANG H O
Department of Food Science Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08901 PETER SCHIEBERLE
Institut für Lebensmittelchemie der Technische Universität München Lichtenbergstrasse 4 D-85748 Garching, Germany
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