Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties | Biochemical Information
Legends, Myths and Stories | Uses | Formulas or Dosages | Nutrient Content | How Sold | Warning | Resource Links
Scientific Names
- Erythroxylum coca Lam.
- Erythroxylum novogranatense (Morris) Hieron.
Common Names
- Bolivian Coca
- Coca de Java
- Coca Péruvienne
- Cocaine Plant
- Huánuco Coca
- Java Coca
- Mate de Coca
- Peruvian Coca
- Trujillo Coca
- Inca Tea
Parts Usually Used
The leaves of the coca plant.
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Coca is a shrub-like bush native to western South America, growing 2–3 meters tall, with curved branches and thin, opaque, oval leaves marked by distinct curved lines on either side of the midrib. Small yellowish-white flowers mature into red berries. It thrives in hot, humid environments but can also grow in drier hillside areas. There are two main species—Erythroxylum coca and Erythroxylum novogranatense—each with two varieties, cultivated in different ecological zones. Coca has been an integral part of Andean culture for thousands of years, traditionally cultivated for chewing and tea-making, as well as medicinal, nutritional, and ceremonial purposes.
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Where Found
Coca is cultivated in the Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia, as well as in parts of Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Brazil. It has also been historically grown in Java, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, and other tropical regions. Small-scale cultivation exists in Central America, including Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. The plant prefers humid, tropical climates and specific altitudes.
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Medicinal Properties
In traditional medicine, coca leaves are valued as a mild stimulant to relieve fatigue, hunger, and thirst, and to increase endurance at high altitudes. They have been used to relieve altitude sickness, improve digestion, and as an anesthetic and analgesic for headaches, rheumatism, wounds, sores, and dental pain. Additional traditional uses include treatment for malaria, ulcers, asthma, and gastrointestinal ailments. Some evidence supports its potential role in regulating carbohydrate metabolism, easing hypoglycemia, and aiding in weight management. Coca may also act as a fast-acting mood elevator in certain contexts.
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Biochemical Information
Coca leaves contain 14+ alkaloids, most notably cocaine (0.1–0.9% in dried leaves), along with cinnamoylcocaine, benzoylecgonine, methylecgonine, tropacocaine, truxillines, hygrine, and cuscohygrine. These alkaloids work synergistically, producing milder physiological effects than purified cocaine. Coca leaves also provide carbohydrates, protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins B1, B2, C, and E.
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Legends, Myths and Stories
In Andean cosmology, coca is considered a sacred gift from the gods, used in offerings to mountain spirits (apus), the sun (Inti), and the earth (Pachamama). In Inca society, coca was initially reserved for nobility and special classes, later becoming more widespread for laborers and soldiers to sustain physical effort. Coca leaves were also placed in the mouths of mummies and used in divination rituals.
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Uses
Coca is traditionally used in several forms:
- Chewing the leaves with an alkaline substance (llipta) to release alkaloids.
- Brewing coca tea (mate de coca) for altitude adaptation and digestion.
- Topical use for wounds and oral lesions.
- Cultural and religious offerings in Andean rituals.
Potential modern applications under research include gastrointestinal treatment, motion sickness relief, metabolic regulation, physical performance support, and mood enhancement.
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Formulas or Dosages
Traditional daily consumption varies between 20–60 grams of leaves, chewed slowly with an alkaline activator. Coca tea typically contains 4.8–5.1 mg of cocaine alkaloid per tea bag. No standardized medicinal dosage is established in modern practice due to legal restrictions and safety concerns.
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Nutrient Content
Coca leaves are a source of protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins B1, B2, C, and E, contributing to their value as a nutritional supplement in traditional diets.
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How Sold
In countries where traditional coca use is legal, it is sold as dried leaves, tea bags, granola bars, candies, and decocainized extracts for flavoring (e.g., Coca-Cola). It is also available in lozenge or chewing gum form in certain regulated markets.
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Warning
Because coca contains cocaine, it can raise heart rate and blood pressure, and may cause serious side effects including migraines, seizures, strokes, heart attacks, and organ damage. It is unsafe during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and should be avoided by those with heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke risk, asthma, diabetes, or plasma pseudocholinesterase deficiency.
Coca is illegal in many countries outside the Andes, and its possession or use may carry severe legal penalties.
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Resource Links
Andean Healing: High-Altitude Herbs of the Inca and Their Descendants
WebMD – Coca – Uses, Side Effects, and More
National Library of Medicine – Coca leaf as a therapeutic agent
ScienceDirect – The therapeutic value of coca in contemporary medicine
World Health Organization – Contribution of traditional medicine to public health: coca leaf
