Extractions and crystallization of caffeine Part 1
The primary method for purify organic compounds is recrystallization. The reaction mixtures of natural product mixtures always contain impurities. The impurities may include some combination of insoluble, soluble, and colored impurities. The solubility of organic compounds is an important thing to consider
Caffeine is an alkaloid compound. Alkaloids are nitrogen containing basic compounds that are found in plants. They usually taste bitter and often are physiologically active in humans. The names of some of these compounds are familiar to you even if the structures aren’t: nicotine, morphine, strychnine, and cocaine. The role or roles these compounds play in the life of the plants in which they are found is not well understood. In some cases they may act as pesticides; nicotine is found in tobacco and has been sprayed onto other plants, in which it is not normally found, to function as an insecticide. The structure of caffeine is shown to the right of figure 4.1. it can be considered to be constructed from the purine ring system, which is important biologically, being found in nucleic acids and elsewhere.
Caffeine is found in a number of foods ingested by people. Caffeine acts as a stimulant. It stimulates the heart, respiration, the central nervous system, and is a diuretic. Its use can cause nervousness, insomnia and headaches. It is physically addictive. A person who drink as few as 4 cups of coffee a day and who attempts to stop “cold turkey” may experience headache, insomnia, and possibly nausea as the result withdrawal.