COCA.* 



[Ery thro xy Ion Coca Lam.) 



DR. ALBERT SCHNEIDER, 

 Northwestern University School of Pharmacy. 



It is an aromatic tonic and cerebral stimulant, developing a remarkable power of en- 

 during- hung-er and fatigue. — Gould: Dictionary of Medicine. 



ftT THE very outset I wish to 

 state that coca is in 'no wise re- 

 lated to cocoa, a mistake which 

 is very often made. The term 

 coca, or cuca, as it is sometimes spelled, 

 applies usually to the leaves of Ery- 

 throxylofi coca, which are used as a stim- 

 ulant by the natives of South America 

 and which yield cocaine, a very impor- 

 tant local anaesthetic. Cocoa or cacao re- 

 fers to the seeds of Theobroma cacao, 

 fromwhich cocoa and chocalade are pre- 

 pared, so highly prized in all civilized 

 countries. With these preliminary 

 statements I shall begin the description 

 of coca, hoping at some future time to 

 describe the even more interesting and 

 important cocoa-yielding plant. 



Coca and cuca are South American 

 words of Spanish origin and apply to 

 the plant itself as well as to the leaves. 

 The plant is a native of Brazil, Peru, 

 and Bolivia. It is a shrub varying in 

 height from three to ten feet. The 

 leaves resemble the leaves of tea in 

 general outline. The margin, however, 

 is smooth and entire, the leaf-stock 

 (^petiole) short; upper and lower sur- 

 faces smooth; they are rather thin, 

 leathery, and somewhat bluish-green in 

 color. The characteristic feature of 

 the leaf is two hnes or ridges which 

 extend from the base of the blade, 

 curving out on either side of the mid- 

 rib and again uniting at the apex of 

 the leaf. The flowers are short pedi- 

 cled, small, perfect, white or greenish- 

 yellow, and occur singly or in clusters 

 in the axil of the leaves or bracts. The 

 shrub is rather straggling and not at 

 all showy. 



Coca has been under cultivation in 

 South America for many centuries. 

 According to A. de Caudolle the plant 

 was very extensively cultivated under 

 the rule of the Incas. In fact it is 

 generally believed that the original 

 wild stock no longer exists; such emi- 

 nent authorities as D'Orbigny and 



Poeppig maintaining that the wild 

 growing specimens now found in South 

 America are plants which have escaped 

 from cultivation. Coca is now exten- 

 sively cultivated in Peru, Bolivia, Bra- 

 zil, and other South American coun- 

 tries, particularly in the Andes region. 

 It is also extensively cultivated in 

 British India and in Java. Attempts 

 have been made to introduce it into 

 Southern Europe but without success. 



The plants are grown from seeds 

 sown in pots or boxes in which they 

 are kept until they are from eight to 

 ten inches high, after which they are 

 transplanted during the rainy season. 

 Coca thrives best in a warm, well- 

 drained soil, with considerable atmos- 

 pheric moisture. In the Andes region 

 an elevation of 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet 

 is most suitable. The young growing 

 plants must be protected against the 

 heat of the sun. The maximum growth 

 is attained in about five years. 



The leaves are the only parts used 

 although the active principle, cocaine, 

 is present in small quantities in all parts 

 of the plant. As soon as the shrubs are 

 several years old the leaves are picked, 

 usually several times each year. This 

 work is done principally by women 

 and children who pick the leaves by 

 hand and place them in aprons. They 

 are then spread upon large mats, awn- 

 ings, or cemented floors, and exposed 

 to the sun for from five or six hours to 

 two or three days. During very warm, 

 bright weather drying may be com- 

 pleted in one day. If the process of 

 drying is slow or if it rains upon the 

 leaves they assume a dark color and 

 are of less value. On the first indica- 

 tions of rain the leaves are placed in 

 sheds specially made for that purpose. 



Coca leaves have been used for many 

 centuries by the natives of South Amer- 

 ica who employed them principally as 

 a stimulant, rarely medicinally. The 

 leaves were at one time highly prized. 



203 



