Composition of the Coca Leaves

(From the book: Cocaine the legend by Jorge Hurtado)

   The Coca shrub (Erythroxylon Coca), a plant originally from the Andes mountain range, contains, in ddition o the well known cocaine alkaloid, about a dozen other alkaloids according to research conducted by Harvard University.

   "Coca leaves may,however, contain 0.25 to 2.25% toxic alkaloids, includingenzoylecgonine, benzoyltropine, cinnamyl-cocaine, cocaine,cuscohygrine, dihydroxy tropane, hygrine, ygroline, methylcocaine, methyl ecgonidine, nicotine, tropa cocaine, and A- andB-truxilline."The "Instituto Boliviano de Biologia de la Altura" (IBBA) (Bolivian institute for high altitude studies) asserts having found only four alkaloids: cocaine, nor-cocaine and the derivatives cis- and trans-cinnamyl cocaine.  The remaining alkaloids found by Harvard would probably be substances produced during the chemical analysis process due to the techniques used. The coca leave also contains a lot of nutrients.