Paraxanthine
83.9%1,7-dimethylxanthine · ± 5.4% of demethylation
- Half-life
- 3.1 h
- Clearance
- 2.20 mL/min/kg
The dominant metabolite and the one with the psychostimulant profile closest to what people actually want from caffeine. It antagonises adenosine A1 and A2A receptors, and preclinical work indicates it does so with higher potency than caffeine itself. It also runs a second mechanism that caffeine did not show in the same experiments, described below. It is cleared faster than caffeine and considerably faster than the other two metabolites.
No common dietary source. It exists in you almost entirely because you drank caffeine.


