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Coca
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or consumed as tea, with slower absorption than purified cocaine and no evidence of addiction or withdrawal symptoms from natural use. The coca plant is a shrub-like bush with curved branches, oval leaves featuring distinct curved lines, small yellowish-white flowers that develop into red berries. Genomic analysis reveals that coca, a culturally and economically important plant, was domesticated two or three separate times from the wild species ''Erythroxylum gracilipes'' by different South American groups during the Holocene. Chewing coca in South America began at least 8,000 years ago, as evidenced by coca leaves and calcite found in house floors in Peru’s Nanchoc Valley, suggesting early communal use alongside the rise of farming. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated almost exclusively in the Andes. Indigenous peoples of South America, Indigenous South Americans have traditionally used coca leaves for over a thousand years. Notably, there is no evidence that habitual coca leaf use causes addiction or withdrawal, unlike cocaine. Medically, cocaine is rarely employed, mainly as a topical medication under controlled settings, due to its high abuse potential, adverse effects, and expensive cost. Despite this, recreational drug use, recreational use is widespread, driven by its euphoric and aphrodisiac properties. Levamisole induced necrosis syndrome (LINES)-a complication of the common cocaine Lacing (drugs), cutting agent levamisole-and prenatal cocaine exposure is particularly harmful. Street cocaine is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythroxylum Coca
''Erythroxylum coca'' is one of two species of cultivated coca. Description The coca plant resembles a blackthorn bush, and grows to a height of . The branches are straight, and the leaves, which have a green tint, are thin, opaque, oval, and taper at the extremities. A marked characteristic of the leaf is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines, one line on each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the underside of the leaf. Coca plants are mainly found in Colombia. The flowers are small, and disposed in little clusters on short stalks; the corolla is composed of five yellowish-white petals, the anthers are heart-shaped, and the pistil consists of three carpels united to form a three-chambered ovary. The flowers mature into red berries. Unlike ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'', ''Erythroxylum coca'' requires very acidic soil conditions. Soil acidity and water acidity need to be below pH 5.5, with the optimal value being pH 3.5, similar to that of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can alter brain function in synapses similar to natural rewards like food or falling in love in ways that perpetuate craving and weakens self-control for people with pre-existing vulnerabilities. This phenomenon – drugs reshaping brain function – has led to an understanding of addiction as a brain disorder with a complex variety of psychosocial as well as neurobiological factors that are implicated in the development of addiction. While mice given cocaine showed the compulsive and involuntary nature of addiction, for humans this is more complex, related to behavior or personality traits. Classic signs of addiction include compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, ''preoccupation'' with substances or behavior, and continued use des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythroxylum Novogranatense
''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' is a neotropical species of ''Erythroxylum'' ( Erythroxylaceae). Cocaine is produced from the leaves. Name "Novogranatense" is derived from Latin: ''novo'' (new) and ''granatense'' (Granada). It was named by William Turner Thiselton-Dyer, the third director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, because its country of origin was the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granada—present day Colombia. Subspecies ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' contains 2 subspecies: *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' (D.Morris) Hieron *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'' (Rusby) Plowman These two subspecies are phenotypically similar, but morphologically distinguishable. Taxonomy Among the genus ''Erythroxylum'', cocaine-rich leaves are obtained from 4 taxa: *'' Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''coca'' *''Erythroxylum coca'' var. '' ipadu'' *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stimulant
Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, Mood disorder, mood, and physical activity, physical performance. Some stimulants occur naturally, while others are exclusively synthetic. Common stimulants include caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, methylphenidate, and modafinil. Stimulants may be subject to varying forms of regulation, or outright prohibition, depending on jurisdiction. Stimulants increase activity in the sympathetic nervous system, either directly or indirectly. Prototypical stimulants increase synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitter, excitatory neurotransmitters, particularly norepinephrine and dopamine (e.g., methylphenidate). Other stimulants work by binding to the Receptor (biochemistry), receptors of excitatory neurotransmitters (e.g., nicotine) or by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benzoylecgonine
Benzoylecgonine is the main metabolite of cocaine, formed by the liver and excreted in the urine. It is the compound tested for in most cocaine urine drug screens and in wastewater screenings for cocaine use. Biochemistry and physiology Chemically, benzoylecgonine is the benzoate ester of ecgonine. It is a primary metabolite of cocaine, and is pharmacologically inactive. It is the corresponding carboxylic acid of cocaine, its methyl ester. It is formed in the liver by the metabolism of cocaine by hydrolysis, catalysed by carboxylesterases, and subsequently excreted in the urine. It is readily synthesised by boiling cocaine freebase in water. Urinalysis Benzoylecgonine is the compound tested for in most substantive cocaine drug urinalyses. Presence in drinking water Benzoylecgonine is sometimes found in drinking water supplies. In 2005, scientists found large quantities of benzoylecgonine in Italy's Po River and used its concentration to estimate the number of cocaine users ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coca Alkaloid
Coca alkaloids are the alkaloids found in the coca plant, ''Erythroxylum coca''.Variation of Alkaloid Content in Erythroxylum coca Leaves from Leaf Bud to Leaf Drop. Emanuel L. Johnson and Stephen D. Emche, Ann. Bot., 1994, volume 73, issue 6, pages 645-650, They are predominantly of either the pyrrolidine or the tropane types. __NOTOC__ Tropane-type alkaloids * Benzoylecgonine * Cocaine * Ecgonidine * Ecgonine * Hydroxytropacocaine * Methylecgonine cinnamate * Tropacocaine * Truxilline Pyrrolidine-type alkaloids * Cuscohygrine * Dihydrocuscohygrine * Hygrine * Nicotine See also * Cocaine metabolites (Human) * Coca wine Coca wine is an alcoholic beverage combining wine with cocaine. One popular brand was '' Vin Mariani'', developed in 1863 by French chemist and entrepreneur Angelo Mariani. At the end of the 19th century, the fear of drug abuse made coca-based ..., an alcoholic beverage combining wine with extracted coca alkaloids * Methylecgonidine * Tro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inca
The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca civilisation rose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century. The Portuguese explorer Aleixo Garcia was the first European to reach the Inca Empire in 1524. Later, in 1532, the Spanish Empire, Spanish began the conquest of the Inca Empire, and by 1572 Neo-Inca State, the last Inca state was fully conquered. From 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andes, Andean Mountains, using conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods. At its largest, the empire joined modern-day Peru with what are now western Ecuador, western and south-central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, the southwesternmost tip of Colombia and Incas in Central Chile, a large portion of modern- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythroxylaceae
Erythroxylaceae (the coca family) is a family of flowering trees and shrubs consisting of 4 genera and 271 species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ..., native to Africa and South America. The four genera are '' Aneulophus'' Benth., '' Erythroxylum'' P.Browne, '' Nectaropetalum'' Engl., and '' Pinacopodium'' Exell & Mendonça. The best-known species are the coca plants, including the species '' Erythroxylum coca'', the source of the substance coca. References Malpighiales families {{Malpighiales-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychoactive Plant
Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work: Psychoactivity may include sedative, stimulant, euphoric, deliriant, and hallucinogenic effects. Several hundred psychoactive plants are known. Some popular examples of psychoactive plants include ''Coffea arabica'' (coffee), '' Camellia sinensis'' ( tea), '' Nicotiana tabacum'' (tobacco), and ''Cannabis'' (including hashish). Psychoactive plants have been used ritually (''e.g.'', peyote as an entheogen), medicinally (''e.g.'', opium as an analgesic), and therapeutically (''e.g.'', cannabis as a drug) for thousands of years. Hence, the sociocultural and economic significance of psychoactive plants is enormous. History of psychoactive plants Many plants contain substances that alter moods and cause euphoria. Some of these psychoactive plants were known to the ancients. The history of poppy cultivation dates back to 3400 BC. In Mesopo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecgonine
Ecgonine (tropane derivative) is a tropane alkaloid found naturally in coca leaves. It has a close structural relation to cocaine: it is both a metabolite and a precursor, and as such, it is a controlled substance in many jurisdictions, as are some substances which can be used as precursors to ecgonine itself. Structurally, ecgonine is a cycloheptane derivative with a nitrogen bridge. It is obtained by hydrolysis of cocaine with acids or alkalis, and crystallizes with one molecule of water, the crystals melting at 198–199 °C. It is levorotary, and on warming with alkalis gives iso-ecgonine, which is dextrorotary. It is a tertiary base, and has the properties of an acid and an alcohol. It is the carboxylic acid corresponding to tropine, for it yields the same products on oxidation, and by treatment with phosphorus pentachloride is converted into anhydroecgonine, C9H13NO2, which, when heated to 280 °C with hydrochloric acid, eliminates carbon dioxide Carbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
