Magdalena is focused on developing novel, natural prescription medicines derived from plants for mental health indications SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / July 8, 2025 / Jaguar Health, Inc. (NAS ...

Native to the Andes, the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca) has been traditionally used to combat fatigue, hunger, and altitude sickness, as noted in Possession of Coca Plants by Hospitals for Medical ...

The health risks associated with cocaine, including its newer synthetic derivatives like pink cocaine, are severe and often ...

Journal Reference: Gaia Giordano et al, Forensic toxicology backdates the use of coca plant (Erythroxylum spp.) in Europe to the early 1600s, Journal of Archaeological Science (2024).

The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, said that the narcotic was likely consumed by chewing coca leaves known as Erythroxylum coca.

Cocaine is extracted from the leaves of coca plant (Erythroxylum coca), a bush native to South America. When Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci arrived in what is now Venezuela in 1499, he noticed ...

The study further identified hygrine, a molecule found in the leaves of the Erythroxylum genus, which includes the coca plant.

Hygrine is an alkaloid present in the leaves of Erythroxylum spp. so it indicated that cocaine intake occurred through the chewing of coca leaves.

Play now! As the University of Oxford explains, Erythroxylum is the genus for the coca plant, and notes “In 1855 an anaesthetic alkaloid (cocaine) was isolated from coca leaves.” ...

Among two of the nine samples tested, the researchers discovered active components of Erythroxylum coca - the plant from which cocaine is derived. The traces of cocaine were found by University of ...

The presence of hygrine, an alkaloid found only in the leaves Erythroxylum, the coca plant, further confirmed the drug was consumed in its plant form. "The molecules detected in these human remains ...

The most notable species, Erythroxylum coca, is native to the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains, thriving in the warm, humid climate of regions such as Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia.