Effects of Acute Guarana (Paullinia cupana) Ingestion on Mental Performance and Vagal Modulation Compared to a Low Dose of Caffeine
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Talik, Tyler Nicolas
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Abstract
Guarana (GUA), Paullinia cupana, a Brazilian seed extract, contains caffeine and other bioactive compounds that may have psychoactive effects. Our purpose was to assess acute effects of GUA compared to low dose caffeine (CAF) on cognitive function and mood. Twenty participants participated in a double-blind, crossover experiment ingesting capsules containing: 1) 100 mg CAF, 2) 500 mg GUA containing 130 mg caffeine, or 3) placebo (PLA). Cognitive tests (Simon and 2N-Back Task) were performed at baseline (pre-ingestion) and 60 min after ingestion. A subgroup (n=11) also completed NASA Task Load (mental workload), Brunel Mood Scales, and Motivation and Energy Visual Analog Scales before and after physical fatigue. Response time was not affected (p > 0.05) by treatment for either cognitive tests, although participants performed N-Back faster (p = 0.001) overall over time. Accuracy (ACC) of N-Back had a significant interaction effect (p = 0.029) due to a higher ACC post-ingestion only with PLA versus it’s pre-ingestion (p = 0.033). The N-Back task net improvement in ACC for PLA was greater compared to CAF (+3.8% mean difference, p = 0.019) but not GUA (p = 0.917). There was no effect (p > 0.05) of treatments on mental workload, mood, motivation subscales, or heart rate variability for participants before and after fatiguing exercise. There was an interaction effect on perceived mental energy: pre-ingestion of GUA had lower mental pep ratings compared to it’s post-ingestion (p = 0.006) and post-exercise (p = 0.018). In conclusion, neither the acute ingestion of GUA nor low dose of CAF influenced cognitive performance or sympathetic activation. There was no consistent benefit of GUA or CAF on mood or mental workload, limited to only perceived mental pep interaction effects within the treatment time points of GUA. Additional investigation is merited to determine the lowest effective dose for CAF or GUA to improve mood and cognitive performance.
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Undergraduate Research Option Thesis