gib65 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hi y'all. I just bought a 60 mL bottle of 5-Hour Energy ®. I'm thinking it's no different than a couple cups of coffee, but I'm going to list the ingredients just to be sure. If there are any bio-chemists out there who can tell me if any of the ingredients other than caffeine contribute to the "energy boost" (directly or indirectly), please point them out: -30mg niacine (as niacinamide) -40mg vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine hydrochloride) -400 mcg folic acid -500 mcg vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin) -10 mg sodium -1870 mg "Energy Blend"* -other ingredients** * "Energy Blend" consists of: -citicoline -glucuronolactone -N-acetyl L-tyrosine -L-phenylalanine -taurine -malic acid -caffeine ** "other ingredients" (yes, it literally says that) are: -purified water -natural and artificial flavors -potassium sorbate -sodium benzoate and EDTA (to protect freshness) -sucralose (sorry, it does not specify any amounts for the contents of energy blend or other ingredients) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrP Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 taurine. This is what goes into Red Bull I think. Definately a stimulant though. Just googled it - here is wiki page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine - yuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanntrude Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 taurine is an analogue of speed as far as i recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gib65 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 taurine. This is what goes into Red Bull I think. Definately a stimulant though. Just googled it - here is wiki page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine - yuck. Thanks for the link. It is also a major constituent of bile and can be found in the lower intestine and in small amounts in the tissues of many animals and in humans as well. Yuck is right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 water is also a major constituent of bile. is that yuck? seriously, the taurine in red bull was likely manufactured in a chemical plant rather than extracted from gallons of animal bile and intestines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ydoaPs Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Iirc, all the B vitamins are a large contributor as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gib65 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 water is also a major constituent of bile. is that yuck? seriously, the taurine in red bull was likely manufactured in a chemical plant rather than extracted from gallons of animal bile and intestines. Oh, I don't know about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visceral Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Taurine is definitely a stimulant or at least anti-fatigue. So is glucuronolactone. These two -N-acetyl L-tyrosine -L-phenylalanine you use to produce dopamine, then noradrenaline then adrenaline. I do know that you use B vitamins to produce your various adrenal hormones, so they could contribute too, I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inuhbad Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Certainly interesting... I heard something along the lines of what Visceral stated... These ingredients also react with the HCl in the stomach to further aid in the production of dopamine, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 taurine is an analogue of speed as far as i recall. In what way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermanntrude Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 i'm not sure but i seem to remember reading it. I'm not sure of the structures of either so i dont know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkepticLance Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Taurine is manufactured inside the human body, and is present in sufficient amounts if the person is healthy. If not, then it is up to a doctor to prescribe remedies. Self remedy via energy drink or other means is not wise. Vitamins are required to a certain minimal level, and excess is either toxic, or simply excreted. For example, vitamin C is required at 50 mgs per day. If you take in 60 mgs, the excess is squirted out by your kidneys. A healthy, balanced diet in normal people provides all the vitamins you need, and supplements in pills or energy drinks are not required, and are utterly useless. Not to mention, liable to lighten your wallet. In short, the only 'energy giving' substances in energy drinks are sugar and caffeine. Nether should be consumed in excess, and too much energy drink is unwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Niacine is turned to nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide (NAD) which is used in many reactions as a reducing/oxidising agent including oxidative phosphorylation. Pyridoxine hydrochloride helps with sodium and potassium balance which will assist nerve impulses as well as the formation of red blood cells helping oxygen transport. It is also part of the production of serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline which neurotransmitters or hormones and therefore control the bodies regulation. Folic acid is used to create thymine as well as other purines which is incorporated into RNA and DNA, therefore can be used to help in gene regulation supplying the required constituents. Vitamin B12 has a similar function to folic acid, being used in DNA and cell replication, fatty acid synthesis and energy production. Sodium, is probably partly used as a flavouring, but in biological terms it is used in nerve impulses as well as many other functions in general cell regulation. Tyrosine is a precursor to noradrenaline, dopamine, two neurotransmitters as well as adrenaline. Phenylalanine can be turned to Tyrosine, hence the other molecules. Taurine works to make the chemicals more miscible with water, as well as having other physiological effects but they are not really to do with energy production or release. Malic acid is used in gluconeogenesis, which make it useful when the drink is taken with exercises is is also used as a way of passing hydrogen ions into mitochondria from NADH out of the mitochondria to NAD+ within therefore meaning they can be used in ATP synthesis. Caffeine can pass the blood brain barrier and is an analogue of adenosine therefore binding to the adenosine receptors which effect the brains sleep cycle waking you up. It is also a competitive inhibitor of cAMP-phosphdiesterase therefore meaning a build up of cAMP in cells causing activation of protein kinase A, which can phosphorylate other enzymes causing glucose synthesis, however cAMP has different effects on different cells for instance the epithelial and the epithelial cells of the intestines where its presences has the opposite effect in the cases of some processes such as water and electrolyte uptake. Sodium benzoate is a preservative and EDTA is present to stop it turning to benzene a carcinogen. Sucralose, is primarily sugar however is much sweeter than glucose so is just used to make it taste nice and can most likely be metabolised into glucose to be used in glycolysis. Despite the effects of most of these chemicals, few probably have any noticeable effect unless you are deficient in them and most are probably just egested or excreted as urine without being metabolised as the body already has the required amount available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visceral Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Caffeine can pass the blood brain barrier and is an analogue of adenosine therefore binding to the adenosine receptors which effect the brains sleep cycle waking you up. I didn't know this, thought it just stimulates the adrenals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psycho Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I didn't know this, thought it just stimulates the adrenals... It does that as well producing epinephrine and norepinephrine, which are known to increase heart rate, blood pressure and dilation of airways, which are all opposite effects that occur when you sleep, this extra metabolic activity would also raise your temperature, which lowers when you sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Sucralose is a calorie free sweetner so its not going to provide energy. Taurine and speed have practically nothing in common. The most likely effect of all these added chemicals is to give you really expensive urine, that's where the end up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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