BOTANICAL lVIUSEUM LEAFLETS

BOTANICAL lVIUSEUM LEAFLETS
HAR V ARD UNIVERSITY
CAMBRIDGE, .MASSACHTSETTS, ÜCTOBJi:R
----------·--·-·-
VoL. 24, No. 6
31, 197 5
NlJTRITION AIJ V .•A.LlJE OF COCA
BY
J Al\IES .A.. DuKE\
l)AVID
AuLIK 2
Til\lOTHY PI,OWMAN
AND
3
Lea ves of wond 'rous nourishmen t
Whose Juice Succ'<l in, and to the Stomach tak 'n
Long Hunger and long Labour can sustain;
Frorn which our faint and weary Bodies find
More Succor, more they cheer the drooping Mind,
'l'han can your Baechus and your Ceres join 'd.
-AllltMIAM Cowu<;y in Mort.imer's
Hislor.11 qf Coca
LÍ bstract.
Coca lea ves ( Coca I.,¡arn.)
from Chapare, Bolivia, cornpared to an average of 50
other Latín A.merican vegetable products, are higber in
calories (B05 per 100 g cornpared to 279), protein (18. 9
g: 11. 4 g), carbohydrate (tG. 2 g: :-37.1 g), fiber (14. 4 g:
B. 2 g), ash (H. O g: 2. O g), calciurn (L'540 mg: 09 rng),
phosphorus (ül 1 mg: 270 mg), iron (4·5. 8 rng: H.() ing),
vitainin A (ll,000 IlJ: 135 IlJ), and riboftavin (l.ül
rng: 0.18 rng). Coca was lower than the average for the
,30 plant foods in oil content (5.0 g per 100 g cornpared
to n.n g), rnoisture (6.5 g: 40.0 g), thianiin (0.85 rng:
0.38 rngL niacin (LB mg: 2.2 mg), and ;:tseorbic acid
1
Chief, Plant 'faxonorny Laboratory, Plant Genetics and Germplasrn, Institute, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Maryland.
2
• WA RF lnstitute, lnc., Box 2599, Madison, \Visconsin.
:i Research Assocíate in Economic Botan y, Botanical M useum,
Harvard Uníversity, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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J
(l. 4 mg: 13. O rng). Ingestion of 100 g of the Bolivian
coca Jeaves tested would more than satisfy the Retomrnended l)ietary Allo\vance for reference n1an and
wo1nan of ealcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin A, \'itamin B 2 and vitamin E. I-Iowever, the Jeaves also contain
alkaloids and rnay harbor pesticide residues.
l J na ble to establlsh the nutritional val ue of coca le aves
(ICrythroxylum Coca Larn.) afterconsulting man y sources,
we obtained a one kilogran1 sun-dried sarnple fron1 San
Francisco, Province of Chapare, Bolivia, in .June, UJ7 4.
Using methods Jisted in References and Notes, we obtained the following nutritional analysis (l): calories, :-305
per 100 g; rnoisture, fL:) g; protein, 18.D g; carbohydrate, 4G. 2 g; fitt, 5. O g; vitan1in .A, 11, 000 I O (as
beta-earotene); vitamin C, 1.4 mg; vitan1in B 1 (tl1ia1nine), 0.3;) rng; vitanün B 2 (ribof:lavin), l.9 n1g; niacin,
1. 2H n1g; calcium, 1,.540 mg; iron, 45. 8 1ng; vitainin
E, 43. 5 IU (as d-alpha tocopherol); vitamin B 6 , O..508
mg; folie acid, O. 130 mg; vitamin B 12 , l. 05 1ncg; iodine,
;). O rncg; phosphorus, Hl 1 mg; magnesiurn, 213 n1g zinc, 2. 70 rng; copper, l. 21 mg biotin, O. 08G3 mg;
pantothenic acid, O. G84 mg; and sodium, 40. 6 rng. The
ana1)7 SÍs of other elernents by emission spectroscopy
yielded the following amounts: potassiurn, 2.02 g per
100 g; alurninum, 30. 5 rng; barium, 4·. H7 rng; strontiurn, n. 71 rng; boron, .5. B6 rng; zinc, 2. 70 1ng; numganese, G. G5 mg; and chro1ni um, O. 35ü mg.
Surprised by the high values, especially in calciun1 and
iron, we tabulated nutritional averages for other plant
products ingested by Latin ¡-\ rnericans (Table 1). Cornpared with an average frorn ten nuts and oi]seeds (2)
(S'esamum indicum, 1 1erminalia Catappa, Pnuvus Amygdalus, C'orylus spp., Arachis hypogaea, Castanea spp.,
Bcrtho/letia crvcelsa, Il cliantlws annn11s, LÍ 11acardi11m
occidcntale ancl Inga spp. ), the Sun Francisco coca leaYes
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J
were higher in protein, carbohydrate, ash, calciurn, phosphorus, iron, vitarnin A and riboflavin. Coca \Vas lower
in calories, rr1oisture, fat, thiamin, niacin, and \'Ítarnin
C. Co1npared \vith an average of ten pulses ( v·igna unguiculata, Cicer arietinum, Cajanus C<{jan, Pisum sativwn,
J7zcia Faba, Phascolus vulgaris, 1Joliclws Lablab, Lens
spp., {i-lycine J.lfa,x and Lupinus mutabilis), coca was
equal in fat; higher in fiber, ash, calciun1, pl1osphorus,
iron, vitarnin . A., and riboflavin; and lower in calories,
moisture, protein, carbohydrate, thiarnin, niacin, and
vitarnin C. Cornpared with an average of ten ccreals
(.A mara,,nth us cauda tus, Oryza sativa, . .·b.)e1u1 sativa, Chenopodium pallidicaule, ('henopodh1m.. Hordcum
vulgare, .S'ecale cerea/e, Coúv Lachryma-jobi, Zea J.lfays
and 1'riticum aestivum), coca was higher in protein, fat.
fiber, ash, calciurn, phosphorus, iron, vitarnin ..:\., riboflavin, and vitarriin lovver in calories, rnoisture, carbohydrate, thianiin, and niacin. Con1pared with an average
of ten vegetables ( Canna edulis, Capsicwm spp., ji lliu 111
sathlum, Arracacha aH1ntlwrrhiza, lpomoca JJ atatas, ('yclanthera pedata, Cucnrbita 11uz,t.'ima, A llium Jlrassica oleracea, and 1'ropaeolum tuberosum) andan average
of ten fruits (Pcrsea americana, ..d nanas comosus, Jlusa
sapicntum, Cocos mollissima, ""'' nn011a
Chcrimolia, pcrsica, P'ragaria spp., jlnruma 11111ricata, and J?ic11s Carica), coca \Vas high on ali counts
except 1noisture and vitarnin C.
The present coca analyses are con1parable toan average
of three earlier coca analyses frorn Bolivia (B) and three
recently reported fron1 Peru (4). Frequent reports that
coca has no nutritional value should be re-evaluated in
view of these findings. The con1paratively high nutritional values for coca are due partly to the frwt that the
leaves are dry (less than 10(/{1 rnoisture) when purchascd,
whereas rnost other foods are higher in rnoisturc.
[ 115
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In rnost areas where it is used, coca shouJd be considered a masticatory since it is not wholJy consumed by
t he che,ver. Typically, the lea ves are first rnoistened in
the rnouth with saliva, then formed into a quid with the
tongue and pushed in to the upper cheek cavity. They
are then sucked to extract the rich, green juice which is
subsequently swallowed. l J sually sorne form of allrn]i
is added to facilitate this extraction. \Vhen the chew is
exhausted, it is usually spat out. Thus, the full complement of nutrients present in the coca leaf is not consurned
entirely, and the nutritional arnounts reported here n1ay
be sornewhat higher than the amounts actually ingested
by the coca chewer. To our knowledge, no studies have
been rnade on the nutritional value of the swallowed
extract.
In the Colombian Aniazon, a variation of coca use is
practiced by severa! tribes. Coca leaves are pulverized
to a fine po\vder along with the ashes of .Pourouma or
Cecropia leaves. 'l'he tnixture is placed in the inouth on.
the gun1s and inner cheeks and is eventually swallowed
(8). In this case, and in instances where a coca chewer
swallows his quid, the full comp]ement of the leaf nutrients would be ingested. T'here is essentially no difference
here between the use of coca and the direct consurnption
of food, in terms of n utrition.
'rhe arnounts of coca consmned 1nay con tribute significantly to the diets of Andean coca chewers (5). If the
average chewer ingests 60 g of Peruvian coca per day
(5,G), he more than satisfies his requirements for calcium,
even without the supplen1enta] ash or lime usually added
to the coca quid ((i). No other food in the IN CAP Food
Con1position Tables (2) approaches coca for calcium content (1, 789 mg). Other food items are high in calcium:
sesan1e seeds, 1212 rng per 100 g; spinach flour , 488 rng;
lea ves of Ldi11rus nobilis, 803 rng; lea ves of .Justicia pecto[ 11()
J
ralis, 663 mg; vV est Indian Almond ( Catap-
pa ), 497 mg; powdered skim n1ilk, l ,HOl mg; whole
rnilk, 921 n1g; and alligator meat, 1, 231 rng; but none
equals coca. Few food plants can satisfy the ca]ciu1n and
iron in the llecommended Dietary .A.Jlowance (RDA )
of reference man ingesting 100 g. The Bolivian coca
leaves reported here do satisfy the llD ....:\..
Coca leaves inay, however, contain O. 25 to 2. <;t toxic
alkaloids, including benzoylecgonine, benzoy ltropine.
cinnamylcocaine, cocaine, cuscohygrine, dihydroxytropane, hygrine, hygroline, n1ethylcocaine, rnethylecgonidine, nicotine, tropacocaine, and a - and /3 -truxilline
( 4, 7). 'l1hese al o ne could n1ake the nutritious coca leaf
undesirable as a source of nutrients. The average coca
chewer could also ingest 442 mg of copper in a year if
the San Francisco lea ves are typical but th is arnou nt
is not excessi ve.
lHany coca growers in both high (Chapare, Roli\·ia )
and low (irungas, Bolivia) rainfaJl areas rnay use insecticides. The leaves are not intentionally washed, and harvest and curing are timed to avoid rainfall. In eonsidering
coca for lnunan consumption, the leaves should be annlyzed for insecticide residues .
.AJthough coca leaves contain relatively high levels of
certain nutrients, the presence of alkaloids and the possible presence of insecticide residues suggest caution in
coca chewing.
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REFERENCES AND NOTES
(o/o N X 6.25), Association of Official Analvtical Chemists (A.0.A.C.), l lth Ed., 16. 1970; moisture, 1. Methods: Protein
oven, A.O.A.e., 122. 1970; ash, A.0.A.C., 123. 1970; fat,
A. O. A. e., 129. 1970; carbohydrates, by difference; calories, by
calculation; vitamin A, Moore & Ely, Ind. Eng. ehem. AnaL
Ed., 13: 600. 19 '1· 1 ; vitarnin e, .J. Biol. Chem., 147 : 399. vitamin B1, A.0.A.C., 771. 1970; vítamin B 2 , A.0.A.C., 789.
1970; niacín, A.0.A.C., 787. 1970; elemental, J.A.0.A.C., .51:
1003. 1968; vitamin E, Acta Che mica Scandinavica l 1 : :H-··JS.
1957; vitamin Be (Streptococcus carlsbergensis), A tkins, Schultz,
\Villiams & Frey, Ind. & Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed., 15: 141. 19 ,i 3;
folie acid, A.0.A.C., 786. 1970; vitarnin B 12 , U.S.P. 17: 864.
196.':i; iodine, ashing, A.O.A.e., 674. 1970: colorímetry, \V.T.
Binnerts, Anal. Chemica Acta 10: 78. 1954; biotin (Laclobacillus
arnbinosus), Wright & Skeggs, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. & Med., 5():
95. 1944;pantothenicacid, Nielands& Strong, Arch. Biol., 19:
2. 1948.
0
Wu Leung, W. & M. Flores. 1961. Tabla de Composición de Alimentos para Uso en América Latina. Instituto de Nutrición de
Centro América y Panamá ( INCAP) and lnterdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense (JC".\ND). U.S. Governrnent Printing Office. Washington, D.C.
:>.
del Ciranado, J. 'I'.
I ,a Pa7..
J tl3 l.
[>lantas J)o]ivianas. i\rno l ·Jer1.nanos.
4-. Machado, E.
Hl7 2. El género Erythroxy Ion en el Perú. Raymondiana 5: .5-101.
<J.
Hanna, J.M. 1974.. Coca Leaf Use in Southern Peru: Sorne Biosocial Aspects. Am. Anthropologist 76 (2): 28 l-'290.
G. Baker, P.T. & R. B. Mazess. 190:3. Cakium: Unusual Sources in
the Highlan<l Peruvian Diet. Science 14·2 : 1466-7.
7. Willaman, J.J. & R.G. Scbubert. 1961. Alkaloi<l-bearing plants
and tbeir Contained Alkaloids. U. S. Department of Agriculture.
\Vasbington, D.C.
8. Schultes, R.E. 1957. A new method of coca preparation in the
Colombian Amazon. Bot. Mus. Leafl. Harvard lJniv.17 (t}): 24- 124.(i.
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J
L......J
""""
.,...,
""""
'-'
r--i
as beta -carotene
.. no elata
1
( 10)
Fruits
79.6
l.8
74 87.:3
(10)
Vegeta bles
11.7
11.5
:)52
( 10)
Cerea Is
l.2
25.4
11.3
354
(10)
16.8
11.4
Pulses
9.9
40.0
521
279
18.8
18.7
(10)
(50)
8.5
10.3
8.8
18.9
g
16.9
14.J
4.5
71.0
55.1
28.2
37.1
44.3
42.4
46.2
g
1.4
l.5
4.0
5.5
3.6
3.2
13.3
17.5
8.0
14.4
g
Carb. Fiber
0.4
3.7
5.0
36.0
9.9
3.3
1.6
5.0
g
Pro t. Fat
Nuts & Seeds
COCA AVERAGE
PLANT FOOD
AVERAGE
(7)
(3)
Peru coca
····- - -·-·-----
-1
6.5
(3)
g
Cal H20
Bolivia coca
sample
ff in
305
ITEM
San Francisco coca (1)
FOOD
0.7
0.9
2.1
3.3
3.1
2.0
6.3
4.6
5.3
9.0
g
Ash
20
26
74
102
273
99
1789
2038
1540
Ca
mg
l.2
0.8
52
¡53
Rib
0.05
0.06
0.09
o.o:>
J ;)
0.25
0.24
1.4
mg
2.2
3.7
0.8
1.9
2.1
0.08 29.0
l.O 31.0
2.7
ki ..... ' ) ')C.
13.0
l.4
······ ----"-
6.17
1.29
mg
Nía VitC
-·---·---'"'
0.28
5.2
0.18
1.73
1.55
1.91
mg
595
0.41
13
4.8
0.58
20
7.1
0.78
0.38
0.58
0.81
17
135
10,000
9,000
0.35
mg
IU
11,000
Thia
VitA 1
4.3
3.6
26.8
7.9
45.8
mg
Fe
346
398
522
270
637
363
911
rng
p
Nutritional Comparison per 100 g of Coca Le aves with other Latín American Plant Foods.
TABLE 1