On a New Organic Base in the Coca Leaves is an 1860dissertation written by Dr. Albert Niemann. Its title in German is Über eine neue organische Base in den Cocablättern. The piece describes, in detail, how Niemann isolated cocaine, a crystallinealkaloid. It also earned Niemann his Ph.D. and is now in the British Library. He wrote of the alkaloid's "colourless transparent prisms" and said that, "Its solutions have an alkaline reaction, a bitter taste, promote the flow of saliva and leave a peculiar numbness, followed by a a sense of cold when applied to the tongue." Niemann named the alkaloid "cocaine" — as with other alkaloids its name carried the "-ine" suffix. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Binomial name Erythroxylon coca For the American comedian, see Imogene Coca. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... This article is about the thesis in dialectics and academia. ... Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ... Crystal (disambiguation) Insulin crystals A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. ... An alkaloid is a nitrogenous organic molecule that has a pharmacological effect on humans and other animals. ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... British Library main building, London The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is the worlds largest research library, holding over 150 million items and adding some 3 million every year. ... Suffix has meanings in linguistics and nomenclature. ...
The use of cocaleaves was associated historically with the religious ceremonies of the Incas and reserved specifically for nobility.
Coca paste is a chunky, off-white to light-brown, putty-like substance that exists primarily as an intermediate product in the processing of cocaleaves into powder cocaine.
Cocaleaves typically are mixed with an alkaline substance (such as lime) and chewed into a wad that is retained in the mouth between gum and cheek and sucked of its juices.
Coca protects the body from many ailments, and our doctors use it in powdered form to reduce the swelling of wounds, to strengthen broken bones, to expel cold from the body or prevent it from entering, and to cure rotten wounds or sores that are full of maggots.
Whereas cocaine hydrochloride is extremely soluble in water, cocainebase is insoluble in water and is therefore not suitable for drinking, snorting or injecting.