Copyright: © 2019 International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods. All rights reserved. 1 Review J. Food Bioact. 2019;000:000–000 Journal of Food Bioactives International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods Guarana as a source of bioactive compounds: a mini-review Cintia Pereira da Silva a* , Rosana Aparecida Manólio Soares-Freitas a , Geni Rodrigues Sampaio a , Adriano Costa de Camargo a,b* and Elizabeth Aparecida Ferraz Silva Torres a a Nutrition Department, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo – USP, São Paulo, Brazil b Departamento de Ciencias Vegetales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontifcia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 306- 22, Santiago, Chile * Corresponding author: Cintia Pereira da Silva and Adriano Costa de Camargo, Nutrition Department, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo – USP, São Paulo, Brazil. E-mail: cintiasil@usp.br, adrianoesalq@gmail.com DOI: 10.31665/JFB.2019.5186 Received: June 18, 2019; Revised received & accepted: June 26, 2019 Citation: da Silva, C.P, Soares-Freitas, R.A.M., Sampaio, G.R, de Camargo, A.C, and Torres, E.A.F.S. (2019). Guarana as a source of bioac- tive compounds: a mini-review. J. Food Bioact. 000: 000–000. Abstract A high daily intake of fruits and vegetables is an important strategy to promote health. The mechanism explain- ing the health benefts of plant food materials is atributed, at least in part, to their high content of bioactve phenolics. Guarana (Paullinia cupana) is a typical product from Amazon biota and, mainly as a source of cafeine; its seeds are commonly used as stmulants. However, guarana seeds are also rich in catechin, epicatechin, procya- nidin B1, and procyanidin B2. Guarana exhibits potental health benefts in cognitve functon and preventon of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it is a promising source of anthyperglycemic and antbacterial compounds for preventon and/or management of type 2 diabetes and oral diseases. However, to confrm these benefts in humans, clinical trials are needed to provide evidence for these anecdotal observatons. Keywords: Cafeine; Phenolic compounds; Antioxidant properties; Anti-Infammatory potential; Antimicrobial activity. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the major health chal- lenges of the 21st century. In 2016, they were responsible for 71% (41 million) deaths around the globe. NCDs include cardiovascular diseases (17.9 million deaths), cancers (9 million deaths), chronic respiratory diseases (3.8 million deaths), and diabetes (1.6 million deaths) (WHO, 2018). Unhealthy diet is a behavioral risk factor causally linked with the main NCDs. However, several studies have shown that a high daily intake of vegetables and fruits may be helpful in health pro- motion. The mechanisms explaining these health benefts are re- lated to the action of bioactive molecules such as phenolic com- pounds (Boeing et al., 2012; Abbas et al., 2017; Karasawa and Mohan, 2018), mainly due to their antioxidant potential. Guarana (Paullinia cupana) is a typical product from Ama- zon biota. As a source of cafeine, its seeds are commonly used as stimulants. In food processing, guarana seed extract is the base favor used in the manufacture of one of the most popular Brazilian carbonated drinks. Furthermore, it is also used in the energy drink industry. Besides that, guarana was listed in the Brazilian Phar- macopoeia (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, 2017) and has been reintroduced in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, with monographs for guarana seed, its powder and dry extract. The Brazilian Food Supplement Law just recognized that guarana presents bioactive substances. Therefore, supporting its role as a functional food in- gredient (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, 2018). Literature data show that guarana seeds are good sources of cat- echin, epicatechin, procyanidin B1, procyanidin B2 (Schimpl et al., 2013; Yonekura et al., 2016). Due to its bioactive compounds, guarana has attracted considerable interest as an ingredient for the development of functional foods and food supplement. However, the health benefts of bioactive compounds depend not only on the intake levels but also on their bioavailability (BAv). The bioavaila- bility is involved with digestion, absorption, metabolism, distribu- tion, transporting, excretion, and colonic fermentation. Therefore, these parameters have to be considered (de Camargo et al., 2018; Shahidi and Peng, 2018; Shahidi et al., 2019). In vitro methods to simulate gastrointestinal digestion allow determination of the bioaccessibility (BAcs) of these compounds