Coffee and tea are currently the world’s most commonly used stimulants. Whereas the two are of different chemical structure and composition, they share a common chemical that is caffeine. Tea, for instance, contains caffeine and methylxanthenes such as theobromine and theophylline which are also human central nervous system stimulants. Tea is derived from a plant, Camellia sinensis, which was first grown in South East Asia and used as a beverage. It has over the years been adopted worldwide as a non-alcoholic beverage and a stimulant. Coffee comes from coffee beans, and the most commonly grown species of coffee are Coffea robusta and Coffea arabica. Apart from their common use as non-alcoholic beverages and stimulants, marked differences in their effect on the human physiology have been noted courtesy of their different chemical compositions.
Coffee contains up to 1000 different …show more content…
Physiologically, they act as antagonists of the adenosine receptor in the body and at the same time act as phosphodiesterase inhibitors thus preventing the degradation of cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate which is an intracellular chemical messenger; it also activates histones deacetylasein the nucleus, these reduces the transcription of pro-inflammatory genes and potentiates the effect of Corticosteroids. This can lead to a variety of physiological effects in the body, for example, bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory effects. This effect has led to the use of other methyxanthines as anti-asthmatic drugs. Other effects of caffeine include benefits, for instance, better mood alertness and better performance (Smith, 2002) However, some adverse effects have been noted especially with acute coffee or rather caffeine intake (Van Dam and Feskens, 2002). These include negative effects on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity especially in the obese and those with type two diabetes