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Nutritional Neuroscience
An International Journal on Nutrition, Diet and Nervous System
Volume 11, 2008 - Issue 4
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Research articles

The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood

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Pages 193-198 | Published online: 19 Jul 2013

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Read on this site (11)

Umut Yilmaz, Yusuf Buzdagli, Muhammed Lütfü Polat, Yusuf Bakir, Burak Ozhanci, Sena Alkazan & Halil Ucar. (2023) Effect of single or combined caffeine and L-Theanine supplementation on shooting and cognitive performance in elite curling athletes: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 20:1.
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Andrew R. Jagim, Patrick S. Harty, Grant M. Tinsley, Chad M. Kerksick, Adam M. Gonzalez, Richard B. Kreider, Shawn M Arent, Ralf Jager, Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, Jeffrey R. Stout, Bill I. Campbell, Trisha VanDusseldorp & Jose Antonio. (2023) International society of sports nutrition position stand: energy drinks and energy shots. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 20:1.
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Matthew T. Stratton, Madelin R. Siedler, Patrick S. Harty, Christian Rodriguez, Jake R. Boykin, Jacob J. Green, Dale S. Keith, Sarah J. White, Brielle DeHaven, Abegale D. Williams & Grant M. Tinsley. (2022) The influence of caffeinated and non-caffeinated multi-ingredient pre-workout supplements on resistance exercise performance and subjective outcomes. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 19:1, pages 126-149.
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Marcos Daou, Julia Montagner Sassi, Matthew W. Miller & Adam M. Gonzalez. (2019) Effects of a Multi-Ingredient Energy Supplement on Cognitive Performance and Cerebral-Cortical Activation. Journal of Dietary Supplements 16:2, pages 129-140.
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Javier Zaragoza, Grant Tinsley, Stacie Urbina, Katelyn Villa, Emily Santos, Angelie Juaneza, Matthias Tinnin, Cory Davidson, Susan Mitmesser, Zhiying Zhang & Lem Taylor. (2019) Effects of acute caffeine, theanine and tyrosine supplementation on mental and physical performance in athletes. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 16:1.
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Chanaka N. Kahathuduwa, Tharaka L. Dassanayake, A. M. Tissa Amarakoon & Vajira S. Weerasinghe. (2017) Acute effects of theanine, caffeine and theanine–caffeine combination on attention. Nutritional Neuroscience 20:6, pages 369-377.
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Xi-Chong Yu, Bo-La Wu, Jin-Chao Gao & Wei Yang. (2016) Theanine enhanced both the toxicity of strychnine and anticonvulsion of pentobarbital sodium. Drug and Chemical Toxicology 39:2, pages 217-223.
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Sumathi Thangarajan, Asha Deivasigamani, Suganya Sarumani Natarajan, Prasanna Krishnan & Sandhya Koombankallil Mohanan. (2014) Neuroprotective activity of L-theanine on 3-nitropropionic acid-induced neurotoxicity in rat striatum. International Journal of Neuroscience 124:9, pages 673-684.
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Raymond Cooper. (2012) Green tea and theanine: health benefits. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 63:sup1, pages 90-97.
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T. Giesbrecht, J.A. Rycroft, M.J. Rowson & E.A. De Bruin. (2010) The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. Nutritional Neuroscience 13:6, pages 283-290.
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Articles from other publishers (63)

Donné Minné, Juliet Stromin, Taskeen Docrat, Penelope Engel-Hills & Jeanine L. Marnewick. (2023) The effects of tea polyphenols on emotional homeostasis: Understanding dementia risk through stress, mood, attention & sleep. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN 57, pages 77-88.
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Chalita Jantharanijkorn, Ariya Salikaphuti, Karnt Wongsuphasawat, Wongdyan Pundee, Azizudin Khan & Phakkharawat Sittiprapaporn. (2023) The Effects of Oral L-Theanine on Short-Term Memory in Middle-Aged Population. The Effects of Oral L-Theanine on Short-Term Memory in Middle-Aged Population.
Sonali Raghunath, Sravanthi Budaraju, Seyed Mohammad Taghi Gharibzahedi, Mohamed Koubaa, Shahin Roohinejad & Kumar Mallikarjunan. (2023) Processing Technologies for the Extraction of Value-Added Bioactive Compounds from Tea. Food Engineering Reviews.
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David O. Kennedy & Emma L. Wightman. (2022) Mental Performance and Sport: Caffeine and Co-consumed Bioactive Ingredients. Sports Medicine 52:S1, pages 69-90.
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María Medrano, Cristina Molina-Hidalgo, Juan M. A. Alcantara, Jonatan R. Ruiz & Lucas Jurado-Fasoli. (2022) Acute Effect of a Dietary Multi-Ingredient Nootropic as a Cognitive Enhancer in Young Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Triple-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial. Frontiers in Nutrition 9.
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Fataneh Hashempour-Baltork & Parastou Farshi. 2022. Novel Food Grade Enzymes. Novel Food Grade Enzymes 317 356 .
Ranjit S. Barbole, Nidhi Saikhedkar & Ashok Giri. 2022. Natural Products as Enzyme Inhibitors. Natural Products as Enzyme Inhibitors 25 57 .
Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Sajjad Khan, Asghar Ali Kamboh, Mahmoud Alagawany, Asmaa F. Khafaga, Ahmed E. Noreldin, Muhammad Qumar, Muhammad Safdar, Mubashar Hussain, Mohamed E. Abd El-Hack & Sun Chao. (2020) L-theanine: an astounding sui generis amino acid in poultry nutrition. Poultry Science 99:11, pages 5625-5636.
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Michal Kumstát, Martin Sebera & Michal Vičar. (2020) The Effects Of Commercially Available Energy Drink On Cognitive Performance. The Effects Of Commercially Available Energy Drink On Cognitive Performance.
Meng-Chun Chi, Min-Guan Lin, Yu-Fen Huang, Yi-Yu Chen, Tzu-Fan Wang & Long-Liu Lin. (2019) Enzymatic synthesis of L-theanine from L-glutamine and ethylamine by Bacillus licheniformis γ-glutamyltranspeptidase and its mutants specialized in transpeptidase activity. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology 22, pages 101393.
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Casey J. Thomas, Jeffrey Rothschild, Conrad P. Earnest & Aaron Blaisdell. (2019) The Effects of Energy Drink Consumption on Cognitive and Physical Performance in Elite League of Legends Players. Sports 7:9, pages 196.
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Julius Schuster & Ellen S. Mitchell. (2019) More than just caffeine: psychopharmacology of methylxanthine interactions with plant-derived phytochemicals. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 89, pages 263-274.
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O.J. Onaolapo & A.Y. Onaolapo. 2019. Caffeinated and Cocoa Based Beverages. Caffeinated and Cocoa Based Beverages 163 207 .
Hieronymus J.M. Gijselaers, Paul A. Kirschner & Renate H.M. de Groot. (2018) The Consumption of Breakfast, Fish and/or Caffeine does not Predict Study Progress in Adult Distance Education. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research 88:5-6, pages 291-299.
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Dongxu Wang, Qiang Gao, Guangshan Zhao, Zhipeng Kan, Xiaoxiao Wang, Haisong Wang, Jinbao Huang, Taotao Wang, Frank Qian, Chi-Tang Ho & Yijun Wang. (2018) Protective Effect and Mechanism of Theanine on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation and Acute Liver Injury in Mice. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 66:29, pages 7674-7683.
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Dongxu Wang, Min Cai, Taotao Wang, Guangshan Zhao, Jinbao Huang, Haisong Wang, Frank Qian, Chi-Tang Ho & Yijun Wang. (2018) Theanine supplementation prevents liver injury and heat shock response by normalizing hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis hyperactivity in mice subjected to whole body heat stress. Journal of Functional Foods 45, pages 181-189.
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Dominique Turck, Jean‐Louis Bresson, Barbara Burlingame, Tara Dean, Susan Fairweather‐Tait, Marina Heinonen, Karen Ildico Hirsch‐Ernst, Inge Mangelsdorf, Harry J McArdle, Androniki Naska, Monika Neuhäuser‐Berthold, Grażyna Nowicka, Kristina Pentieva, Yolanda Sanz, Anders Sjödin, Martin Stern, Daniel Tomé, Henk Van Loveren, Marco Vinceti, Peter Willatts, Ambroise Martin, Sean (JJ) Strain & Alfonso Siani. (2018) Black tea and improvement of attention: evaluation of a health claim pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal 16:5.
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Eshita Sharma, Robin Joshi & Ashu Gulati. (2018) l-Theanine: An astounding sui generis integrant in tea. Food Chemistry 242, pages 601-610.
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Devesh Tewari, Adrian M. Stankiewicz, Andrei Mocan, Archana N. Sah, Nikolay T. Tzvetkov, Lukasz Huminiecki, Jarosław O. Horbańczuk & Atanas G. Atanasov. (2018) Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Dementia Therapy and Significance of Natural Products and Herbal Drugs. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 10.
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A. B. Katasonov. (2018) Neurobiological effects of theanine and its possible use in neurology and psychiatry. Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova 118:11, pages 118.
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Edele Mancini, Christoph Beglinger, Jürgen Drewe, Davide Zanchi, Undine E. Lang & Stefan Borgwardt. (2017) Green tea effects on cognition, mood and human brain function: A systematic review. Phytomedicine 34, pages 26-37.
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Christina Dietz, Matthijs Dekker & Betina Piqueras-Fiszman. (2017) An intervention study on the effect of matcha tea, in drink and snack bar formats, on mood and cognitive performance. Food Research International 99, pages 72-83.
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Christina Dietz & Matthijs Dekker. (2017) Effect of Green Tea Phytochemicals on Mood and Cognition. Current Pharmaceutical Design 23:19, pages 2876-2905.
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Warnakulasuriya M.A.D.B. Fernando, Geeshani Somaratne, Kathryn G. Goozee, Shehan Williams, Harjinder Singh & Ralph N. Martins. (2017) Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease: Can Tea Phytochemicals Play a Role in Prevention?. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 59:2, pages 481-501.
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Maria Daglia, Arianna Di Lorenzo, Seyed Fazel Nabavi, Antoni Sureda, Sedigheh Khanjani, Akbar Hajizadeh Moghaddam, Nady Braidy & Seyed Mohammad Nabavi. (2017) Improvement of Antioxidant Defences and Mood Status by Oral GABA Tea Administration in a Mouse Model of Post-Stroke Depression. Nutrients 9:5, pages 446.
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Grace E. GilesCaroline R. MahoneyTad T. BrunyéRobin B. Kanarek. (2017) Cautiously Caffeinated: Does Caffeine Modulate Inhibitory, Impulsive, or Risky Behavior?. Journal of Caffeine Research 7:1, pages 7-17.
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Aditya Sunkaria, Aarti Yadav, Sunil Kumar Sharma & Rajat Sandhir. 2017. Neuroprotective Effects of Phytochemicals in Neurological Disorders. Neuroprotective Effects of Phytochemicals in Neurological Disorders 515 559 .
Micha MM Wilhelmus, Justin L Hay, Rob GJA Zuiker, Pieter Okkerse, Christelle Perdrieu, Julien Sauser, Maurice Beaumont, Jeroen Schmitt, Joop MA van Gerven & Beata Y Silber. (2016) Effects of a single, oral 60 mg caffeine dose on attention in healthy adult subjects. Journal of Psychopharmacology 31:2, pages 222-232.
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Grace E. GilesCaroline R. MahoneyTad T. BrunyéHolly A. TaylorRobin B. Kanarek. (2017) Caffeine and theanine exert opposite effects on attention under emotional arousal. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 95:1, pages 93-100.
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Jackson Williams, Jane Kellett, Paul Roach, Andrew McKune, Duane Mellor, Jackson Thomas & Nenad Naumovski. (2016) l-Theanine as a Functional Food Additive: Its Role in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Beverages 2:2, pages 13.
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Hieronymus J. M. Gijselaers, Barberà Elena, Paul A. Kirschner & Renate H. M. de Groot. (2016) Physical Activity, Sleep, and Nutrition Do Not Predict Cognitive Performance in Young and Middle-Aged Adults. Frontiers in Psychology 7.
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Thangarajan Sumathi, Deivasigamani Asha, Ganesan Nagarajan, Arivazhagan Sreenivas & Rajendran Nivedha. (2016) l-Theanine alleviates the neuropathological changes induced by PCB (Aroclor 1254) via inhibiting upregulation of inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress in rat brain. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 42, pages 99-117.
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Renu Nandakumar & Mamoru Wakayama. 2015. Enzymes in Food and Beverage Processing. Enzymes in Food and Beverage Processing 305 324 .
F. L. Dodd, D. O. Kennedy, L. M. Riby & C. F. Haskell-Ramsay. (2015) A double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the effects of caffeine and L-theanine both alone and in combination on cerebral blood flow, cognition and mood. Psychopharmacology 232:14, pages 2563-2576.
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Alina Culetu, Julien H?ritier & Wilfried Andlauer. (2015) Valorisation of theanine from decaffeinated tea dust in bakery functional food. International Journal of Food Science & Technology 50:2, pages 413-420.
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Lindsay B Baker, Ryan P Nuccio & Asker E Jeukendrup. (2014) Acute effects of dietary constituents on motor skill and cognitive performance in athletes. Nutrition Reviews 72:12, pages 790-802.
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David A Camfield, Con Stough, Jonathon Farrimond & Andrew B Scholey. (2014) Acute effects of tea constituents L-theanine, caffeine, and epigallocatechin gallate on cognitive function and mood: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews 72:8, pages 507-522.
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Mari Maeda-Yamamoto, Yu OkudaTakeshi OhsugeManami Monobe. (2014) Examination of Conditions for the Efficient Extraction of Various Functional Ingredients from Tea Leaves (<i>Camellia sinensis </i>L.) using a Tea Infuser, ‘Rich plus’ (RICH+<sup>®</sup>). NIPPON SHOKUHIN KAGAKU KOGAKU KAISHI Nippon Shokuhin Kagaku Kogaku Kaishi 61:12, pages 586-591.
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Suzanne J Einöther & Vanessa E Martens. (2013) Acute effects of tea consumption on attention and mood. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 98:6, pages 1700S-1708S.
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Hui Yang, Wenzhe Li, Huiyi Yu, Ruiqi Yuan, Yang Yang, Kingston Pung, Ping Li & Lei Xue. (2013) Physiological Effects of l-Theanine on Drosophila melanogaster. Molecules 18:11, pages 13175-13187.
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C. F. Haskell, F. L. Dodd, E. L. Wightman & D. O. Kennedy. (2013) Behavioural effects of compounds co-consumed in dietary forms of caffeinated plants. Nutrition Research Reviews 26:1, pages 49-70.
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Jamila H. Siamwala, Paul M. Dias, Syamantak Majumder, Manoj K. Joshi, Vilas P. Sinkar, Gautam Banerjee & Suvro Chatterjee. (2013) l-Theanine promotes nitric oxide production in endothelial cells through eNOS phosphorylation. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 24:3, pages 595-605.
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Yoichiro SHIMIZU, Masashi IMAOKA, Shigekazu YANO, Yosuke SAWARAGI, Kazuyoshi TAKAGI & Mamoru WAKAYAMA. (2013) Sensitive Enzymatic Method for the Quantification of Theanine, a Principal Umami Component of Commercial Tea Beverages. Food Science and Technology Research 19:5, pages 909-913.
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Ai Yoto, Mao Motoki, Sato Murao & Hidehiko Yokogoshi. (2012) Effects of L-theanine or caffeine intake on changes in blood pressure under physical and psychological stresses. Journal of Physiological Anthropology 31:1.
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John J. Foxe, Kristen P. Morie, Peter J. Laud, Matthew J. Rowson, Eveline A. de Bruin & Simon P. Kelly. (2012) Assessing the effects of caffeine and theanine on the maintenance of vigilance during a sustained attention task. Neuropharmacology 62:7, pages 2320-2327.
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Janet Bryan, Michelle Tuckey, Suzanne J.L. Einöther, Ursula Garczarek, Adam Garrick & Eveline A. De Bruin. (2012) Relationships between tea and other beverage consumption to work performance and mood. Appetite 58:1, pages 339-346.
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Suzanne J.L. Einöther, Vanessa E.G. Martens, Jane A. Rycroft & Eveline A. De Bruin. (2010) l-Theanine and caffeine improve task switching but not intersensory attention or subjective alertness. Appetite 54:2, pages 406-409.
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Tae Il Kim, Yong Kyung Lee, Sang Gi Park, Im Seop Choi, Jung Ok Ban, Hyoung Kook Park, Sang-Yoon Nam, Young Won Yun, Sang Bae Han, Ki Wan Oh & Jin Tae Hong. (2009) l-Theanine, an amino acid in green tea, attenuates β-amyloid-induced cognitive dysfunction and neurotoxicity: Reduction in oxidative damage and inactivation of ERK/p38 kinase and NF-κB pathways. Free Radical Biology and Medicine 47:11, pages 1601-1610.
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