What happens if you drink 300 cups of coffee per day?

Scientists of one of the universities in England during the failed laboratory experiment gave two students a dose of caffeine equivalent to 300 cups of coffee. The experiment was conducted at the University of Northumbria at the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences in March 2015. Not long ago this case appeared in the crown court of Newcastle, according to the local press (Sunderland Echo).

Side effects

Almost immediately after receiving a huge dose of caffeine, 20-year-old students began to experience severe side effects, including dizziness, blurred vision, tremor of the body and rapid heartbeat. They were then sent to the intensive care unit for dialysis. This is a medical procedure used to remove harmful substances and excess water from the blood. As a rule, people with insufficient renal function pass it. The students stayed in the intensive care unit for several days.

Why an error occurred

But why did the students receive the same dose of caffeine as if they had drunk 300 cups of coffee? The experiment was to test the effect of caffeine on the body during physical training. As part of the experiment, two guys drank a solution of orange juice, water and caffeine powder. The confusion was due to the fact that the laboratory staff calculated the required doses using a calculator on the mobile phone, and they accidentally moved the decimal point. The university also said that earlier caffeine tablets were used for this kind of experiments, but over the past few years they switched to pure powder.

This gross error means that students received 30.7 and 32 grams of caffeine each instead of 0.3 g. For comparison: a standard cup of coffee contains about 0.1 g of caffeine. Moreover, earlier people died because of the use of 18 grams.

Material compensation

Representatives of the University of Northumbria told the court that they were "deeply and sincerely sorry." The University paid the students £ 400,000 ($ 50,4100) in compensation for a very unpleasant and life-threatening experience.

As a result of the error, both students lost weight, and one of them reported a short-term memory loss. Fortunately, they no longer experience any unpleasant symptoms.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people using caffeine powder as a medicine to increase productivity. This story serves as a reminder that caffeine can still be dangerous, even if it is our favorite psychoactive drug.