Does Red Bull Give you Wings?

A Case Study by Sidd Singal

Red Bull Gives you Wings. Obviously not literally, but Red Bull believes that
each of the 45 billion energy drinks has provided energy to the person
drinking it. This energy might be directed toward exercise, concentration, or
maybe even just staying awake past normal hours. We are going to look at
primary and secondary literature learning if Red Bull really does give you
wings. This case study will include 2 sections. In section 1, we will look at the
biology and chemistry of Red Bull. In section 2, we will look at a study done
about Red Bull.

Section 1: Analyzing the Ingredients of Red Bull

We will look at the ingredients of Red Bull and answer some simple questions
about what the effects of Red Bull might be on the body. The first article
below only discusses two of three key ingredients in Red Bull. The second
article below in this section will talk about caffeine.

Red Bull: The Other Energy Drink and its Effect on Performance
Developed in Austria, Red Bull's marketing campaign promises the beverage "gives you wings."
According to Red Bull, all of the ingredients are synthetically produced by pharmaceutical companies,
which "guarantees the highest quality" of ingredients. The company claims the combination of caffeine,
taurine, and glucuronolactone will boost energy. So what is in Red Bull that can "give us wings?" Each
250 ml (8.3 oz) can of Red Bull contains the following: 1000 mg of taurine, 600 mg of glucuronolactone,
80 mg of caffeine, 18 mg of niacin (niacinamide), 6 mg of pantothenic acid (calcium d-pantothenate), 2
mg of vitamin B6 (pyridoxide HCI), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine), inositol, and
nonmedicinal ingredients: carbonated water, sucrose, glucose (27 grams of sugar), citric acid, flavors, and
caramel. Of the 15 ingredients, you could probably identify 9-10 as being familiar. Let's investigate three
of the ingredients: taurine, glucuronolactone, and caffeine.
Taurine comes from the Latin word taurus or bull. It was isolated from ox bile in 1827 by German
scientists Friedrich Tiedemann and Leopold Gmelin, who identified it as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid.
Taurine plays a role in digestion and is naturally found in bile, urine, and fluids of muscle, lungs, and
nerve tissue of many animals. It is also in some plants and some bacterial species. Many companies that
manufacture products containing taurine classify it as an amino acid; however, since it lacks a carboxyl
group, it is not an amino acid and it is not incorporated into protein. Taurine promotes the intestinal
absorption of lipids or fats as cholesterol. It also works in electrically active tissues, such as the brain and
heart, to stabilize cell membranes. Additionally, taurine has functions in the gallbladder, eyes, and blood

vessels. Thus, it may be helpful in treating cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, seizure disorders,
macular degeneration, and hepatic conditions. The mechanism of its action, however, is specific to the
pathology; therefore, if the condition isn't present, intake of taurine will not help. The biosynthesis of
taurine occurs in the liver via the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway. The mean intake in humans is estimated
to be around 60 mg daily. Premature infants, who lack the enzyme to convert cysteine and synthesize
taurine, may become deficient in taurine. Therefore, for the premature infant, taurine is a dietary essential
nutrient often found as a supplement in baby formulas and baby foods.
Glucuronolactone is a naturally occurring metabolite in the body that is produced by the metabolism of
glucose in the liver. Physiologically, the liver detoxifies hormones and carcinogenic compounds by
binding them to glucuronic acid and excreting them in bile (produced in the liver). Some studies claim
glucuronolactone has been shown to improve memory and concentration, and it acts as an antidepressant
and stimulant by reducing sleepiness and sleep-related incidents. Hence, it's inclusion in Red Bull.

Effects of Caffeine Consumption

Caffeine is a competitive inhibitor of adenosine. This means that when caffeine runs through the
body, caffeine outcompetes adenosine and occupies the active site of the enzyme phosphodiesterase,
which would normally degrade adenosine. As a result, this mechanism sheds light not only on the
effects of caffeine on the body, but also the effects of the absence of caffeine on the body (e.g.
withdrawal).

Sympathetic nervous system: the sympathetic nervous system is a part of the autonomic nervous
system involved with bodys fight-or-flight response. Caffeine prevents the enzymatic degradation of
adenosine located in postsynaptic cells. This increases the strength of transmission of neural signals
in this system.

Metabolism: According to Belza et al, as little as 50mg of caffeine significantly increases the resting
energy expenditure. This means that without doing anything, one metabolizes more with caffeine.
Through the sympathetic nervous system, caffeine promotes fat lipolysis and exercise associated fatty
acid oxidation.

Athletic Performance: After consumption of caffeine, the concentration of serotonin increases in the
brainstem regions. This increases spinal motor neurons. As a result, there is an increase in the firing
of skeletal muscle motor units, which means better energy utilization and lower levels of exertion.

Mental/Cognitive Improvement: The cerebral blood flow is proportional to the amount of caffeine
consumed [4]. As a result, there is an increase in efficiency with neurotransmissions involved in the
cerebral cortex. This results in improvements with alertness, concentration, decision-making,
problem solving, and neuromuscular coordination.

Questions
1. Red Bull is an energy drink, which means it gives you energy! What does it
mean to your body to get energy? What does it mean in terms of the
information above?
2. It is time to go out and do some research! Make a list of some of the
ingredients in Red Bull and find out how they are composed. Link them to a
broad biological group (such as proteins or carbohydrates) and determine
what their specific function might be on the body, if any.
3. Design your own experiment that tests the effectiveness of Red Bull. Discuss
what exactly you would be testing for, and what kind of outcomes are
possible.

Section 2: Studying and Measuring the Actual

Effects of Red Bull
In section 1, we looked at the ingredients of Red Bull and we tried to figure
out what effects they might have on the body. Now, we will look at an actual
study on Red Bull conducted by researchers. We will start by reading
excerpts from an article titled The effects of Red Bull Energy Drink on
human performance and mood. Then we will analyze this study by
answering some questions.
Note that you do not have to read the entire article to answer the questions.
It might be worth it to look at the questions first and go through the article.
The procedure has been left out

The effects of Red Bull Energy Drink on human performance and

mood
University students in Bristol report improved work endurance and subjective state after consuming Red
Bull Energy Drink. Key constituents include caffeine, glucuronolactone, and taurine amongst other
potentially performance enhancing ingredients. Geiss et al. (1994) reported improved exercise
performance in endurance athletes after consuming 500ml of this taurine-containing drink. The studies

presented here assessed physical and mental performance, as well as subjective alertness, in order to
investigate the reported effects under controlled conditions.
The first study involved 5 male and 5 female subjects, aged 1830 years with a mean of approximately 23
years; there were 7 male and 7 female subjects in the second study, aged 1835, mean 24 years; whilst 7
male and 5 female subjects participated in the third study, aged 2021 years, these unpaid healthy
volunteers included moderate caffeine users screened for physical exercise capacity, who were not
diabetic and had no known sensitivity to test compounds. They were recruited from amongst the students
and their friends at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. All participants had the
experimental procedures explained or demonstrated to them before giving their informed consent. Study
protocols were approved by an Ethics Committee of the University
The preliminary study was undertaken in 1997 to establish possible treatment effects, with subsequent
studies in the following 2 years including additional controls. A repeated measures, double-blind design
was employed with each subject receiving both treatments in a randomised order. Similar designs were
employed for subsequent studies although treatment order was based on latin squares. The preliminary
study assessed heart rate, blood pressure, subjective mood and choice reaction time both pre- and post
treatment. The second study assessed heart rate, blood pressure, subjective alertness (VAS) and choice
reaction time both pre- and post treatment. Aerobic endurance was tested post treatment only. The third
study included cognitive tasks with established sensitivity assessing concentration and memory pre- and
post treatment, with anaerobic endurance assessed post treatment.
The preliminary study included: carbonated mineral water and Red Bull Energy Drink. A no drink control
was added for the second study. Still water replaced carbonated water in the third study with a dummy
energy drink being added as a comparator for Red Bull Energy Drink. The dummy energy drink
comprised low calorie quinine flavoured carbonated water with additional lime, apple and blackcurrent
concentrates with no added sugar. Red Bull Energy Drink contains carbonated water, sucrose (21.50g),
glucose (5.25 g), citric acid, taurine (1,000 mg), glucuronolactone (600 mg), caffeine (80 mg), inositol
(50mg), vitamins (niacin, panthenol, B6, B12), flavours, colour (caramel, riboflavin). The volume of all
drinks was 250 ml (equivalent to a standard can of Red Bull Energy Drink).

Questions
1. What do the results lead you to believe? What are some significant
observations that you can make from the results? Please talk about each of
the three studies that were done and give quantitative examples from the
text above.
2. Was this experiment fool proof? What are some improvements that could be
made to this experiment? Consider the fact that Red Bull contains three key
ingredients from the text above. Have the researchers fully evaluated the
effects of these three ingredients?