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Figure 1. The molecular structure of caffeine. Caffeine belongs to the family of heterocyclic compounds known as purines. It has the systematic name 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione; it is also known as 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, and 1,3,7-trimethyl-2,6-dioxopurine.
It belongs to the group of compounds. known as methylxanthines which include. theobromine (cocoa) and theophylline (tea). Because of its excellent solubility and slow rate. of degradation, caffeine can persist in aquatic. environments (Seiler et al., 2005) and has the. potential to biomagnify through the food chain. Thus, even a small amount of dissolved caffeine. in aquatic environment can concentrate over. time.