Content and Distribution of Erythroxylum coca Leaf Alkaloids

Fully expanded leaves of Erythroxylum coca var. coca Lam. (Erythroxylaceae)35-70-d-old were harvested from 21-month-old plants grown undergreenhouse conditions. Each harvested leaf was placed on a plexiglasssilhouette according to its dimensions and divided into fourprimary sections (petiole, base, mid and anterior) and threesubsections (lamina periphery, false mid-rib, and true mid-rib)to determine the distribution and content of hygrine, cuscohygrine,trans-cinnamoylcocaine, cis -cinnamoylcocaine, tropacocaine,tropinone, methyl ecgonine and cocaine. The leaf sub-sectionsand petiole were extracted and analysed for alkaloid content(%) by HPLC (cocaine alkaloid only) gas chromatography and GC/MS.Cocaine, methyl ecgonine and hygrine were highest in the laminaperiphery with a content of 0·48, 0·46 and 0·32%,respectively. Trans-cinnamoylcocaine was pre-eminent of thecinnamoylcocaines and was most abundant in the petiole at acontent of 0·24%. Cis-cinnamoylcocaine, tropinone, cuscohygrineand tropacocaine were ubiquitously distributed throughout theleaf where the average contents were 0·14, 0·004,0·16 and 0·04%, respectively.Copyright 1995, 1999Academic Press Alkaloids, Erythroxylum coca var. coca, E. coca, leaf alkaloids, petiole alkaloids, cocaine, cuscohygrine, methyl ecgonine, hygrine, tropinone, tropacocaine, trans-cinnamoylcocaine, cis-cinnamoylcocaine