Decker's Theory Of Caffeine

Researchers of Caffeine According to Bennett Allan Weinberg and Bonnie K. Bealer (2001) Caffeine in its pure form was not known until 1820. However, the properties of caffeine are already recognized long before the drug itself is known.

Walter Rumsey (1584-1660)

A welsh judge observed in a book chapter entitled Experiments of Cophee that coffee had the “ power to cure drunktards”. The theory survive today in the prevalent but inaccurate belief that a cup of strong coffee can make a drunk person sober.

Simon Pauli (1603-80)

A German physician warned people about the harmful effects of tea, coffee and chocolate in his published works. In his book, he proclaimed that the Chinese “are guilty of fulsome exaggeration” when they asserted that

In a book he published, Decker advised drinking a minimum of ten cups daily and recommended building up to fifty to two hundred cups, amounts that he frequently consumed himself. Decker wrote extensively about the analeptic effects of tea and coffee, clearly reflecting his knowledge of pharmacological properties that we attribute to caffeine. Decker’s death at thirty-eight did not add credibility to his theory on extension of human life by the use of tea or coffee. Decker died by falling down a staircase.

Louis Lemery (1677-1743)

A scientist that summarized what he saw as the beneficial and harmful effects of coffee. Among good effects were: strengthening of stomach, speeding digestion, relieving headaches, alleviating hangovers, stimulating the production of urine and flatulence, stimulating memory and imagination. The bad effects include emaciation and loss of sexual appetite.

John Ovington

His comments show a great deal of understanding of what we now consider as a primary use of caffeine: imparting energy, increasing alertness, and preventing sleep.

Simon Tissot (1728-1797)

A Swish-french physican and medical writer, who argued that Decker had corrupted the whole northern Europe by promoting coffee and tea. He asserted that accelerating blood circulation, as coffee do have no value in curing illness and, in fact, will do harm.

Benjamin Moseley (1742-1819)

An English physician and medical writer who presented a comprehensive study of what was known about the origins and health effects of coffee in his time. He also presented a scientific analysis of coffee’s active constituents before the discovery of caffeine by Runge less than 35 years later.

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge (1794-1867)

A young German physician who first isolated caffeine from arabian mocha coffee beans. In addition, he also discovered quinine an alkaloid obtained from the bark of several species of the cinchona