Comment · Thu, July 10, 2014 · Ceretropic
Coffee v.s. Caffeine
Original post in this thread
[deleted] · 19 points
I'd like to get a discussion going about this. From what I understand, there is a difference between the ways coffee and isolated caffeine affect people, but I know very little about why this is.
What else is there in coffee, other than the caffeine, that has a significant effect on the brain? Is coffee or pure caffeine the way to go?
Edit: I'm sort of answering some of my own question, but I'm finding that coffee contains MAOIs, specifically β-carboline and harmane. Missed that somehow when reading through the Wikipedia entry for coffee
What they were answering
Vaenomx · 15 points
Is there a way to search my old comments? I remember having wrote a long comment about the difference caffeine vs coffee.
Basically, coffee contains molecule that synergize with caffeine. Their effects don't simply add up, but amplify each others.
From the top of my head, Caffeine's Adenosine-2 receptor antagonism and β-carboline's GABA benzodiazepine antagonism leads to increased neurotransmitters release. β-carboline's MAOI reduces the breakdown of those neurotransmitters. Caffeine's Adenosine-2 receptor antagonism and β-carboline's GABA benzodiazepine antagonism also enhance the neuron's response to neurotransmitter by making the neurons more easily excitable.
Also, Coffee being a plant, there could also have many other unidentified molecules playing a minor role in boosting Caffeine effects. If you'd isolate Caffeine and β-carbolines, would it now be like drinking coffee? Probably mostly, but not entirely I guess.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
Exactly. There are many other active compounds in coffee besides caffeine. That includes phenols and flavanoids that would not be present in a caffeine pill, or most energy drinks.
http://llufb.llu.lv/conference/foodbalt/2011/FOODBALT-Proceedings-2011-110-115.pdf
There is also another compound, methylpyridinium, that is almost exclusively found in coffee. It has been shown to have potent anticancer effects.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031015031251.htm
Coffee has even been shown to contain nicotinamide and nicotinic acid, along with quinides and melanoidins.