Loading…
for educational and safety purposes
Caffeine and Paraxanthine both come up in the same conversations. Caffeine: Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant of the methylxanthine class and the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Paraxanthine: Paraxanthine is what caffeine mostly becomes.
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant of the methylxanthine class and the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world. A purine alkaloid found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, cacao, and other plants, it is used to restore alertness, reduce fatigue, and sharpen concentration. It is legal and largely unregulated in most countries, and it also has established medical uses, including the treatment of apnea in premature infants.
Paraxanthine is what caffeine mostly becomes. Around 70 to 80 percent of a caffeine dose is converted by the liver enzyme CYP1A2 into paraxanthine, so for most of the time a coffee is working, the compound doing the work is this one [14]. Selling it directly is an attempt to skip a step that varies enormously between people: CYP1A2 activity differs several-fold across individuals, which is a large part of why the same espresso is pleasant for one person and unpleasant for another. Human trials are small but real, and they point at improved cognition at modest doses with less of the sleep disruption caffeine causes [4][6]. It is the most credible caffeine alternative on this site, and the evidence base behind it is still thin and largely tied to the company selling it.
both fingerprints on one instrument; where the marks line up the two compounds work the same lever, where a slot goes dark only one of them touches it. read straight from each entry's affinity table; nothing here is invented.
Blocks adenosine A1 and A2A receptors
antagonist
Raises dopamine and catecholamine signaling
Improves force production and lowers perceived exertion
the product of caffeine demethylation; taking it directly bypasses several-fold personal variation in conversion
raises
modulates, a route not shared with caffeine to the same degree
inhibits
raises intracellular calcium dose-dependently
increases
promotes cysteine uptake
strengths are the entries' qualitative ratings (strong / moderate / weak); Ki and EC50 figures appear where an entry records them.
easiest to source: Caffeine is currently listed by more trusted vendors (2), so it's the simpler one to get hold of. for effects and safety, read each full entry; this is educational, not medical advice.