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Buried deep – the medical benefits of an ancient herbal plant

The leaves of coca have been used historically as a mild stimulant and medical therapy for supressing pain and sickness in the Andean regions. Cannabis is another herbal plant that has been used for medicinal purposes but, like coca, is classified as an illicit drug in many countries across the world. Cannabis has recently gained the attention of the scientific community, with countless studies being published into its use for health and medicinal applications. Coca, however, has not received the same attention despite its widespread use by rural communities for treating various ailments.

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 Coca: A Blessing and a Curse

South Americans have cultivated coca plants for about 8,000 years. Valuing the leaves as highly as gold, the Inca treasured coca not only for its myriad medicinal properties, but also for the integral part it played in their sacred rites and rituals.

 Travel medicine, coca and cocaine: demystifying and rehabilitating Erythroxylum – a comprehensive review

Few travel health measures are as controversial as the use of coca leaves at high altitude; yet, there appears widespread ignorance among health professionals and the general public about coca, its origins as well as its interesting and often flamboyant history. Equally, the cultural and traditional significance to Andean people is not recognised. The coca leaves contain many alkaloids, one of which, cocaine, has gained notoriety as a narcotic, leading to the mistaken idea that coca equals cocaine. This article contrasts coca with cocaine in an attempt to explain the differences but also the reasons for this widespread misconception.

Articles of Interest

Unlocking The Mysteries Of The Plant That's Raw Material For Cocaine

Despite being the infamous raw material of the drug cocaine, very little is actually known about the coca plant and its wild relatives in the Andes mountains. Coca is a tropical shrub in the family Erythroxylaceae, the leaves of which have been used in traditional medicine for centuries across the Andean region, but it is known globally as the source of the drug cocaine. The three main producing countries are Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, but there are also wild relatives and traditional varieties.

Coca in the Amazon – The anti-development crop

The most lucrative agricultural system in the Amazon is neither soy nor palm oil, but coca leaf, which is cultivated for both legal and illegal markets. There are two species, Erythroxylum coca, which is grown at higher elevations and is preferred for the legal market, and Erythroxylum novogratenensis, which is cultivated at lower elevations and is the primary feedstock for the manufacture of illicit cocaine.

Coca leaf: Myths and Reality

Coca is a plant with a complex array of mineral nutrients, essential oils, and varied compounds with greater or lesser pharmacological effects – one of which happens to be the alkaloid cocaine, which in its concentrated, synthesized form is a stimulant with possible addictive properties. The coca leaf has been chewed and brewed for tea traditionally for centuries among its indigenous peoples in the Andean region – and does not cause any harm and is beneficial to human health.

Coca: The History and Medical Significance of an Ancient Andean Tradition

Coca is an indigenous plant of South America with numerous alkaloid components, the most well-known one of which is the psychoactive component, cocaine. Its leaves have been a staple in the Andean lifestyle for thousands of years. Strong interest in coca use has existed in the anthropological world for decades. Areas of study have not only attempted to understand traditional use during the Incan empire and coca's role in folk medicine, but also focused on factors that influence the ability of this native tradition to continue in the face of increasingly strict regulations of coca production.

Crisis and Opportunity: Unraveling Colombia’s Collapsing Coca Markets

The market in Colombia for coca, the plant whose leaves can be used to produce cocaine, is in a state of historic collapse, bringing with it an acute humanitarian crisis in already impoverished rural territories. The unusually sharp and prolonged drop in coca prices has several causes. WOLA has identified 12 possible explanations, some more compelling than others.