( ges can be difficult for consumers to d...)Caffeine Content In Beverages To Be Identified By Home Test Kit,Health

ges can be difficult for consumers to determine. Products do not always indicate whether they contain caffeine, and the caffeine content of similar food products can vary widely depending on the manufacturer. Even drinks that are labeled ‘decaf’ can contain detectable amounts of caffeine, experts say.

Current tests to detect caffeine use sophisticated laboratory methods, including spectroscopy and chromatography, none of which are applicable to home use, Ladenson and his associates say. While caffeine-specific antibodies are commercially available, these antibodies are destroyed at high temperatures, like those of hot beverages, and consequently are not practical for use in home tests, the scientists say.

To develop the new immunoassay test, Ladenson and his associates obtained an unusual antibody — derived from the blood of llamas — that is resistant to high temperatures due to its unusually stable structure. They obtained the antibodies by repeatedly injecting the animals with caffeine to illicit an immune response to the drug. The researchers then cloned the caffeine-specific antibody and combined it with other chemicals to facilitate caffeine detection.

In early laboratory studies, the antibody mixture was used to measure the presence of caffeine in both caffeinated and decaf versions of coffee and cola. In general, the researchers found that test results were comparable to those of conventional chromatography tests and that the caffeine content of these beverages was accurately labeled.

The antibodies worked equally well in both hot and cold beverages and did not appear to show any false readings caused by structures that are similar to caffeine, Ladenson says. He has filed patents related to the research.

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