Caféine in food supplements

2,960 supplements declared in France contain Caféine as a substance or active ingredient.

In cosmetics: CAFFEINE.

Other names in the Compl'Alim list: caffeine.

In its opinion on supplements for athletes, ANSES advises against supplements containing caffeine before and during sport, and for people sensitive to its effects.

BfR warns of a high risk of accidental overdose with pure or highly concentrated caffeine powders. Very small amounts can already cause serious harm to health.

Maximum dose in France

Caféine: La quantité présente dans la portion journalière recommandée ne doit pas dépasser 200 mg.

Uses

• Beverages, medicine

• Caffeine is a substance in wide use. It is predominantly used in the food sector and pharma sector (80% and 16% rspectively). A smaller part is used in cosmetics (3%) or in technical applications (1%). Furthermore caffeine is a naturally occurring substance in various plant species (e.g. 0.9 to 2.6% in green coffee beans). It is a component in coffee, tea and cocoa.

• Stimulant for central nervous and respiratory systems; cardiac and respiratory stimulant; diuretic

Use classification

• Cosmetics -> Skin conditioning

• Natural products -> Stimulants -> Nervous System -> Psychoanaleptics -> Psycostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics -> Xanthine derivatives

A molecule found naturally in plants or organisms; in a supplement it may be extracted from them, made by fermentation or synthesised: the declaration does not say which.

Basis: one CosIngThe European Commission's database of cosmetic ingredients. CAS and natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database).

Natural occurrence recorded in Wikidata (LOTUS database): 72 taxa; examples: Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, Camellia sinensis, Camellia oleifera, Ilex paraguariensis.

Manufacturing

• Caffeine is isolated by solvent extraction from green coffee beans and tea leaves. The Zosel high-pressure extraction process is a more sophisticated procedure involving supercritical carbon dioxide, resulting in mild, selective, and toxicologically safe decaffeination.

• Caffeine may be isolated from tea or coffee by boiling with water in the presence of lime or magnesium oxide, which serves to precipitate the tannins and some of the coloring matter. After filtration, the crude caffeine that separates in recrystallized from hot water after treatment with decolorizing charcoal. A source of the commercial supply is tea dust or sweepings. Increasing quantities of caffeine are now obtained as a byproduct in the manufacture of "decaffeinized coffee."

• Caffeine occurs naturally in tea and coffee, but is prepared synthetically for commercial drug use.

• Usually obtained from tea dust in which it is present up to 5% or as a by-product from the manufacture of caffeine-free coffee; synthetically prepared starting with dimethylurea and malonic acid.

Appearance

• Hexagonal prisms

• White, fleecy masses or long, flexible, silky crystals

• White, prismatic crystals

• Caffeine appears as odorless white powder or white glistening needles, usually melted together. Bitter taste. Solutions in water are neutral to litmus. Odorless. (NTP, 1992)

Odour described

• Odorless

Taste described

• Bitter taste

Other names: Coffein (German), cafeína (Spanish), caffeina (Italian), cafeína (Portuguese).

Health claims register (European Union): 0 authorised and 6 refused claim(s) for this substance.

Compl'Alim ingredient list (France): listed.

Canada, licensed natural health products (LNHPD): 35 products.

United States, supplement labels (DSLD; supplements need no prior approval): 1991 products.

United States, supplements listed by the USDA: 50 products.