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Caffeine is an alkaloid found naturally in such foods as coffee beans, tea, kola nuts, Yerba maté, guarana, and (in small amounts) cacao beans. It is added to some soft drinks such as colas and Mountain Dew. Caffeine has a characteristic intensely bitter taste. Its main pharmacological properties are: a stimulant action on the central nervous system with psychotropic effects and stimulation of respiration, a stimulation of the heart rate, and a diureticA diuretic is any drug that tends to increase the flow of urine from the body ( diuresis). Some common diuretics are caffeine and alcohol. Medically, diuretics are used to treat heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver, Hypertension and certain kidney diseas effect. Caffeine consumption leads to pharmacologic tolerance with defined withdrawal symptoms.
1 Chemical properties
Caffeine is an alkaloid of the methylxanthine family, which also includes the similar compounds theophyllineTheophylline is a drug, a phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor, that is widely used in therapy for respiratory diseases. It bears structural and pharmacological similarity to caffeine. It is naturally found in black tea and green tea. The main actions of the and theobromineTheobromine is an alkaloid of the methylxanthine family, which also includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine. It is known to induce mutations in bacteria and lower eukaryotes, but does not seem to cause mutations in higher eukaryotes, such. In its pure state it is an intensely bitter white powder. Its chemical formulaA chemical formula (also called molecular formula is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. It identifies each type of element by its chemical symbol and identifies the number of atoms of su is CAlternative meaning: Carbon (computing Carbon is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol C and atomic number 6. An abundant nonmetallic, tetravalent element, carbon has several allotropic forms: diamonds (hardest known mineral). Bindi8 Hhydrogen helium H Li Full table General Name, Symbol, NumberHydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1 (IA), 1 , s Density, Hardness 0. 0899 kg/m3, NA Appearance colorless Atomic properties Atomic weight 1. 00794 amu Atomic radius (ca10 NNitrogen is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol N and atomic number 7. A common normally colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic non-metal gas, nitrogen constitutes 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere and is a cons4 O2, its systematic name is 1,3,7-tri methyl xanthine or 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-tri methyl-1H- purine-2,6- dione, and its structure is shown above.
2 Physical properties
Pure caffeine occurs as odorless, white, fleecy masses, glistening needles or powder.
Boiling point: 178 °C ( sublimes)
Melting point: 238 °C
Specific gravity: 1.2
Volatility: 0.5%
Vapor pressure: 760 mm Hg @ 178 °C
pH: 6.9 (1% solution)
Solubility in water: 2.17%
Vapor density: 6.7
Molecular weight: 194.19
