Some people experience sleep disruption or anxiety if they consume caffeine, but others show little disturbance. It may confer a modest protective effect against some diseases, including Parkinson's disease. Caffeine citrate is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. It can treat and prevent the premature infant breathing disorders bronchopulmonary dysplasia of prematurity and apnea of prematurity. Caffeine is also an outlier as its use is seen as socially acceptable in most cultures and even encouraged in others.Ĭaffeine has both positive and negative health effects. Unlike most other psychoactive substances, caffeine remains largely unregulated and legal in nearly all parts of the world. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug. In 2020, almost 10 million tonnes of coffee beans were consumed globally.

Caffeine-containing drinks, such as coffee, tea, and cola, are consumed globally in high volumes. To make these drinks, caffeine is extracted by steeping the plant product in water, a process called infusion. People may drink beverages containing caffeine to relieve or prevent drowsiness and to improve cognitive performance. The best-known source of caffeine is the coffee bean, the seed of the Coffea plant. It is found in the seeds, fruits, nuts, or leaves of a number of plants native to Africa, East Asia and South America, and helps to protect them against herbivores and from competition by preventing the germination of nearby seeds, as well as encouraging consumption by select animals such as honey bees. Caffeine also increases cyclic AMP levels through nonselective inhibition of phosphodiesterase.Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline purine, a methylxanthine alkaloid, and is chemically related to the adenine and guanine bases of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).

Caffeine has a three-dimensional structure similar to that of adenosine, which allows it to bind and block its receptors. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to the adenosine A1 receptor, which enhances release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Wikipedia Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votesĬaffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class.

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