SHEET /vs/taurine-vs-caffeine · COMPARISON
Taurine vs Caffeine: what is the difference?
How they differ
from source
These two share a can and almost nothing else. Caffeine is a plant alkaloid that blocks adenosine receptors, and it is the ingredient in an energy drink that produces the alertness. Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid your own body makes and holds in large amounts in muscle, heart and brain, where it works on cell volume, calcium handling and bile salts rather than on wakefulness. The formulas hardly overlap, C8H10N4O2 against C2H7NO3S, and taurine is barely a third of caffeine's weight. Taurine is in energy drinks for reasons that have more to do with marketing history than with stimulation, which is worth knowing before reading anything into the label.
Side by side
| Taurine | Caffeine | |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | C2H7NO3S | C8H10N4O2 |
| Molecular weight | 125.15 g/mol | 194.19 g/mol |
| Family | Amino acids | Plant alkaloids, Stimulants |
| Everyday group | Body | Food & flavor |
| Functional groups | Amines | not recorded |
| GHS signal wordThe supplier-filed hazard label, not a statement about ordinary use. | Warning | Danger |
| Oral LD50A single acute animal measure. It ranks nothing about human safety. | 7,000 mg/kg (oral, rat) | 192 mg/kg (oral, rat) |
| Half-life | not recorded | 5 h |
| Found in | Red meat, Fish, Shellfish | Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Cocoa, Soft drinks |
| CAS number | 107-35-7 | 58-08-2 |
| PubChem CID | 1123 | 2519 |
Common questions
- What is the difference between Taurine and Caffeine?
- These two share a can and almost nothing else. Caffeine is a plant alkaloid that blocks adenosine receptors, and it is the ingredient in an energy drink that produces the alertness. Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid your own body makes and holds in large amounts in muscle, heart and brain, where it works on cell volume, calcium handling and bile salts rather than on wakefulness.
- Is Taurine bigger than Caffeine?
- Caffeine is the heavier molecule, 194.19 g/mol against 125.15 g/mol for Taurine. Taurine is C2H7NO3S and Caffeine is C8H10N4O2.
- Which has the lower reported LD50, Taurine or Caffeine?
- Caffeine, at 192 mg/kg (oral, rat), against 7,000 mg/kg (oral, rat) for Taurine. An LD50 is one acute animal measurement, and the two here were not necessarily measured in the same species, so it is a data point rather than a ranking of how dangerous either is to a person.