GUARANA

(Paullinia cupana), woody, climbing plant, of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), native to the Amazon Basin. It has a smooth, erect stem; large leaves with five oblong-oval leaflets; clusters of short-stalked flowers; and fruit about the size of a grape and usually containing one seed shaped like a tiny horse chestnut. The seeds are roasted and used to make a stimulant drink popular in South America, which has a bitter, astringent taste and a faint, coffee-like odour. Its caffeine content is about three times greater than an equivalent amount of coffee; the astringent action is caused by tannin. Guarana also yields saponin (a carbohydrate), starch, gum, several volatile oils, and an acrid green fixed oil.