Coca Plant

Applications of the Coca Plant: From Discovery, to Medical Phenomena

The coca plant and derivatives thereof, hold an extensive history full of discovery.

Even today, several botanists and pharmacists have a large amount of respect for the plant, and its many practical applications. Unfortunately, because of this plant's absurd potentials, an even greater number of people have found it harmful, and destructive in almost every aspect. In a hope to better understand how, or if the coca plant should be used today, it may be enlightening to examine its origin.

Although the coca plant has been used for thousands of years throughout South America by various Indian tribes, it seems as though true cultivation of the plant is best linked to sometime around the fifteenth century. During this point in time, Inca tribes populated majority of the landscape, but would soon see Spanish conquistadors who were seeking treasures, spices and anything of value (Flynn 17-19). The Spaniards noticed that Peruvian natives would consume the coca leaves on a regular basis. Fascinated with this tradition, the conquistadors demanded information regarding the leaves. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Peruvian natives had been cultivating the coca plant, and consuming its leaves since the beginnings of their respective tribes. The leaves of the coca plant were often chewed by field workers to combat fatigue, and to maintain morale. The leaves were also used by inhabitants of extremely high altitude areas, to compensate for the thin air (Flynn 19-20). As the conquistadors made their way back to Spain, they brought samples of the plant, as well as superficial knowledge of what potentials it possessed. In 1580, the coca leaves first arrived in Europe, but generated little attention from

locals. It is speculated the leaves lost their potency over the long voyage home (Erowid). A handful of botanists at the time, were however, intrigued by the stories told of this wondrous plant which was so heavily revered by the Peruvians. This began the scientific investigation of a plant that would see no end. As physicians in Europe became more and more fascinated with coca and its effects, demand for the plant steadily rose throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The Peruvians however were not so willing to accommodate this demand, as coca was so widely used in their homeland. By the eighteenth century, Peru has developed full-scale cash-crop production of coca, and would export it regularly to Europe, and now to North America. Assorted concoctions containing the coca plant were used as a local anesthetic in various types of surgery. It wouldn't be until 1860 that Cocaine is officially isolated as the prime active ingredient of the coca plant (Erowid). Given this new discovery, scientists and botanist from all around Europe are quick to recognize the effects of cocaine, and to a lesser extent, the coca plant.

Because scientists had now identified what it was about the coca plant that gave it the properties that it had, manufacturers of all sorts began to infuse their product with the coca extract. Probably most famous of all of these was a wine that originated in France, entitled Vin Mariani. It was very much like any other wine available in France, except that it contained cocaine. Although this sounds extremely dangerous and highly unethical to our present-day world, cocaine was merely another ingredient in