Effect of ingestion of caffeine and milk on some lung function indices

Abstract

Caffeine has been reported to be a respiratory stimulant; there is paucity of literatures relating the effect of ingestion of a mixture of caffeine and milk on lung function. This study is therefore aimed at evaluating the effect of combination of milk and caffeine on lung function. The doses of caffeine used for this study were 187.3mg, 374.6mg and 2g, 4g of milk respectively. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV ), forced vital capacity 1 (FVC) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were studied in 40 undergraduate students of University of Benin between the ages of 18-24 years. Pre-and post-ingestion tests were done after drinking the caffeine alone and combination of caffeine and milk, using a Computerized digital Spirometer. The result showed that FEV , FVC and PEFR increased 1 significantly (p<0.001) in all the subjects who took either caffeine alone or the mixture of milk and caffeine when compared with control. Furthermore, the FEV FVC and PEFR 1, were significantly higher (p<0.01) in subjects who took caffeine alone than subjects who took caffeine and milk. This therefore suggests that ingestion of caffeine and milk have a positive effect on the lung function, but the degree of effect was reduced when compared to caffeine alone.