CAFFEINE - FROM TASTY COFFE TO WHO's LIST OF ESSENTIAL MEDICINES

Caffeine (the common name for 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), a bitter, white crystalline purine, is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world. Moreover, caffeine is added to a variety of foods, such as cookies, ice creams, sweets, juice, cola drinks, shampoo, soap, body scrub, and body lotion being one of the most intensively explored ingredients in the food and non- food products. The present review aims to analyze caffeine from a broader perspective ranging from natural occurrence to Food and Drug Administration investigations related the safety of caffeine added to food products, with a special emphasis on children and adolescents.