Composition for suppressing appetite

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The compositions of the invention comprise kavalactones and methylxanthines in synergistic combinations that produce a wakeful, yet tranquil state.
The composition also had the unforseen benefit of suppressing appetite.
The stimulant employed in the compositions is a methylxanthine, or mixtures of methylxanthines.
A preferred stimulant is caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) which can be obtained from coffee beans, tea leaves, cola nuts, guarana, cacao seeds, or mate.
Synthetic caffeine may also be utilized in the present invention.
Additional methylxanthines that may be used in the present invention include 1,3-dimethylxanthine (present in tea) and 3,7-dimethylxanthine (present in cacao), as well as mixtures thereof.
Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is available from well known sources such as coffee beans, tea leaves, cola nuts and cacao seeds.
For example, the caffeine in chocolate, cocoa, and cocoa butter is obtained from cacao seeds.
Less well known sources of caffeine are guarana and mate.
Mate is made from a South American evergreen tree (llex paraguariensis) whose leaves contain caffeine.
Mate is customarily consumed as a tea-like beverage.
Guarana is a vine that climbs trees in South America, and grows as a shrub when cultivated in the open.
The botanical name is Paullinia cupana H.
B.
K.
, variety sorbilis.
Seeds cultivated from the plant yield guaranine, which has the same chemical composition as caffeine.
A syrup extract is obtained from the seeds and used in soft drinks, or the seeds can be roasted and ground into powder.
The anti-anxiety, or relaxing components of the compositions of the invention are kavalactones, and include kavain (a.
k.
a kawain), dihydrokavain (a.
k.
a.
dihydrokawain), methysticin, dihydromethysticin, yangonin, and demethoxyyangonin, among others.
Kavalactones are obtained from the dried rhizome and roots of the kava plant.
A pharmaceutical grade kava root extract, standardized to provide a kavalactone content of about 30% by wt and containing the full spectrum of lactones found in the kava plant may be employed in the compositions of the invention