What's in energy drinks

Molecules in it 22

• CaffeineC8H10N4O2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list: ~80 mg per 250 ml can from source

  The molecule behind coffee's lift: it keeps you feeling alert by getting in the way of your brain's own sleepiness signal.

  As a pure substance: LD50 192 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• TaurineC2H7NO3S

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  An amino sulfonic acid abundant in the heart and retina, and the ingredient energy drinks put on the front of the can.

  As a pure substance: LD50 7,000 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• SucroseC12H22O11

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Table sugar: one glucose joined to one fructose. It is the reference point the whole sweetness scale is measured against, at exactly 1 times sweet.

  As a pure substance: LD50 29,700 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• GlucoseC6H12O6

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Blood sugar. The molecule nearly every cell in your body burns for energy, and the unit that starch, cellulose, and table sugar are built from.

  As a pure substance: LD50 25,800 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• Citric acidC6H8O7

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The mouth-watering sourness of lemons, limes, and oranges.

  As a pure substance: LD50 3,000 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• Carbon dioxideCO2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The gas you exhale, the fizz in a soda, and the molecule plants pull out of the air to build themselves.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Compressed gas, Irritant from source

• Trisodium citrateC6H5Na3O7

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The salt that gives club soda its round taste and keeps donated blood from clotting. In cooking it makes processed cheese melt smoothly.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Irritant from source

• Sodium bicarbonateCHNaO3

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Baking soda. It releases carbon dioxide when it meets an acid, which is why it lifts a cake and why it fizzes in a glass of vinegar.

  As a pure substance: LD50 4,220 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• Magnesium carbonateCMgO3

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Gym chalk. Climbers and gymnasts use it to dry their hands, and it doubles as an antacid and a caking agent in powdered food.

• Sodium benzoateC7H5NaO2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  A preservative in soft drinks and salad dressings. Combined with vitamin C in the same bottle it can slowly form traces of benzene.

  As a pure substance: LD50 3,450 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• Sorbic acidC6H8O2

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  First isolated from rowan berries, hence the name from Sorbus. It is one of the most-used mould inhibitors in cheese, wine, and baked goods.

  As a pure substance: LD50 10,500 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• NicotinamideC6H6N2O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The amide form of vitamin B3, used in skin creams as niacinamide. Unlike niacin it does not cause the flushing that a large dose of B3 can bring on.

  As a pure substance: LD50 3,500 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• Pantothenic acidC9H17NO5

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Vitamin B5, the building block of coenzyme A. Its name comes from the Greek for everywhere, because it is in nearly every food.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Irritant from source

• PyridoxineC8H11NO3

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Vitamin B6, needed by more enzymes than any other vitamin, especially the ones that build and break down amino acids.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Irritant from source

• CyanocobalaminC63H88CoN14O14P

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The stable, cheap form of vitamin B12 used in supplements and fortified foods. The body converts it into the two forms it actually uses.

• RiboflavinC17H20N4O6

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Vitamin B2, the pigment that makes a B-complex vitamin bright yellow and, taken in excess, turns urine fluorescent yellow-green.

  As a pure substance: LD50 10,000 mg/kg (rat, oral) from source

• CarnitineC7H15NO3

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  A shuttle molecule that carries fat into the part of the cell that burns it for energy.

• InositolC6H12O6

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  A sugar-shaped molecule your cells use to build the signaling lipids in their membranes. It was once called vitamin B8 before it was found the body makes its own.

  As a pure substance, its GHS hazard label: signal word Warning; Irritant from source

• SucraloseC12H19Cl3O8

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The sweetener in yellow packets, sold as Splenda. It is table sugar with three chlorine atoms swapped in, which makes it 600 times sweeter and indigestible.

• Acesulfame potassiumC4H4KNO4S

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  Ace-K, a sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is usually blended with sucralose or aspartame because each masks the other's aftertaste.

• AspartameC14H18N2O5

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The sweetener in blue packets and most diet sodas, about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is a dipeptide, so it carries a phenylalanine warning label.

• WaterH2O

  On MoleculeFinder's curated energy drinks list from source

  The one molecule everything else on this site dissolves in, freezes in, or is carried by. Two hydrogens and an oxygen, bent at about 104 degrees.

  As a pure substance: LD50 25,000 mg/kg (mouse, iv) from source