Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis), an anciently consumed stimulant from the Amazon rain forest: the seeded-fruit transcriptome

Abstract

Abstract Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastroin testinal tract. Guarana plants are commercially cultivated. exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated soft drink industry and natural product stores around the world. In this report, we describe and discuss the annotation of 15,387 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits, highlighting sequences from the flavonoid and purine alkaloid path ways, and those related to biotic stress avoidance. This is the largest set of sequences registered for the Sapindaceae family rats (Mattei et al. 1998), and platelet anti-aggregation action was observed in cells treated with water extracts of guarana seeds (Bydlowski et al. 1991). We have screened more than 15,000 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits to identify sequences involved in several metabolic pathways that may contribute to the knowledge of this plant, beginning to unveil its biological properties and mechanisms of protection against biotic stress.