The idea of energy shots started decades ago in the
Far East, notably in Japan, where small tonics became very popular
among consumers, highly concentrated and without carbonation. With the introduction
of energy drinks as of the late 80s, the efficacy of these energy shots
started to travel the world as a new product format. Similar to energy drinks,
energy shots contain caffeine, vitamins, and herbs such as guarana, ginseng
or ginkgo biloba, taurine, maltodextrin, inositol, carnitine, creatine or
glucuronolactone. The functional ingredients of energy shots are comparable
to those of energy drinks, therefore their effects on improvement in mental
and cognitive performances and subjective alertness are in line with the effects
of traditional energy drinks.