THE ANDEAN SACRED PLANT: COCA.

The Coca plant is native to the Andean Mountains of South America. It plays an important role in the Andean societies who live on the Eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia that chew the leaves as a way of life in the high altitude in which their communities are placed.
The knowledge of the sacred Coca plant's virtues has been passed on from generation to generation by way of mouth without any formal knowledge of chemistry. The plant has been used by the Andean people since ancient times.
The leaves are selected or chosen by their high concentration of sweet, aromatic compounds which give a better flavor in the mouth when the chewing process is on. It is still a common practice for a mother to introduce her young to the consumption of the coca leaves by preparing a wad of leaves in her mouth and then transferring it to the mouth of her child. First by chewing the coca leaves they are moistened by the saliva and easily broken facilitating the removal of the stalks and strings. Then a pinch of lime prepared from calcinated seashells, plant ashes or bicarbonate of soda is added pinch by pinch, until the proper mixture is achieved. The amount of lime is critical to the taste and to the concentration of alkaloid released. The wad of leaves is then kept relatively still between the teeth and the cheek; it is sucked on rather than chewed. When the mother transfer the wad from her mouth to the mouth of he child, the proper amount of lime will be presented in the first wad of leaves the child uses, which ensures that the first experience with the coca leaves will leave a positive introduction. Since lime is caustic, an excess will burn the mouth. The process itself involve the extraction of alkaloids from the leaves making them alkaline. The lime is the mechanism by which absorption of the alkaloids could be controlled. Thus, if while chewing the leaves a little too many alkaloids were released, one had only to easy up on the lime and let the saliva wash out some excess lime into the stomach. The lower concentration of lime would result in a slower absorption of alkaloids.
The same cautious and selective procedures are taken when the Coca plant is used in conjunction with other medicinal plants as a natural health enhancer and in the strict context of religious rituals for their various psychoactive effects that target certain neuronal receptors that alter perception, emotion and cognition.
The Coca plant began to be used for negative purposes at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, the leaves with high concentration of the alkaloid used as the raw material for cocaine production were selected. The ones with the very low content are the sweet and flavored ones used for chewing.
The sweet and aromatic leaves help to maintain the teeth and gums in a good state of health; they also keep the teeth white. They are rich in vitamins, particularly thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin C.
Coca tea has a beneficial influence on respiration and is said to effect rapid cure of altitude sickness. It also rids the blood of toxic metabolites, especially uric acid.