Tonight we're going to be talking about something that billions of people consume regularly.  Often without giving much thought, what it is actually doing inside the body.  And we are talking about caffeine and methylxanthines, the chemical stimulants.  Most people think of caffeine simply as something that wakes them up in the morning.  You drink a cup of coffee, you feel more alert maybe you have more energy, and you get on with your day.  But caffeine is not energy it is a psychoactive stimulant, and it belongs to a family of naturally occurring plants compounds called methylxanthines.  And caffeine isn't alone.  There is also theobromine found predominantly in cacao or chocolate and theophilene which occurs mostly in smaller amounts and it's also being used pharmacologically as a bronchial dilator these compounds interact with our nervous system, our cardiovascular system our sleep mechanisms and other physiological processes.  He references Charger Mopar., i.e., Rick Rodriguez.

8:25.  Caffeine appears to serve several ecological functions including acting as a natural pesticide and chemical defense against insects and competing plants the caffeine gets into the insects and they go crazy and it hurts them but there is an interesting twist researchers have also found caffeine in the nectar of certain plants, wear small concentrations May influence pollinator Behavior and memory.  So caffeine can serve different purposes depending on where it occurs in the plant and its concentration.