Nutritional characterization and caffeine content of a food bar made with Paullinia cupana (guarana) powder

Introduction: The excessive consumption of energy drinks can cause many problems in the consumer's health due to the ingredients contained. A population that tends to consume this type of products more frequently are athletes and university students, that is why a product was developed with a similar function to an energy drink but with ingredients from natural sources. It should be noted that it is a food bar that presents simple carbohydrates and caffeine that provide immediate energy and a stimulating effect, respectively, not as a food rich in protein; which is why it is compared to energy drinks.
Methodology: Two different food bars (FB1 and FB2) were made with quinoa, honey, sunflower oil, peanut butter, cocoa powder, bitter chocolate and guarana powder. In which the guarana content varied from 28 and 21% per 70 g serving of each food bar, respectively. Proximal, microbiological and caffeine content per serving was determined in each sample.
Results: The proximate composition for a 70 g serving of FB1 was 329.8 kcal, 36.8% fat, 59.4% carbohydrate, 0.3% fiber, 3.8% protein, 5.2% moisture, 1.07% ash and 0.25% caffeine. For FB2 it was 336.4 kcal, 40.5% fat, 54.9% carbohydrate,0.4% fiber, 4.6% protein,5.45% moisture, 1.41% ash and 0.187% caffeine. Among these, there was only a significant difference in protein and ash content. The caffeine content in FB1 and FB2 was 175 mg and 131 mg/70 g, respectively. Microbiological analysis (molds) gave a result of <10 CFU/g for both samples, thus demonstrating their safety.
Conclusions: The food bars elaborated contain an adequate nutritional composition and an ideal amount of caffeine according to the nature of the product and complied with microbiological standards. These bars could provide the energy and stimulation in the form of a single food for training or day-to-day use