Amazing stuff! How did cocaine get to Italy this early from South America?
"A team of biomedical and medicinal specialists ... has found evidence of cocaine use by at least two people as far back as the 17th century in Europe. ...
[the team] analyzed the preserved brains of two people found in a crypt in Milan used as a burial site for people who died in the nearby Ospedale Maggiore—a well-known hospital of the time. ...
The research team also studied the pharmacological records of the Ospedale Maggiore and found no records of cocaine or coca plants being used for medicinal purposes. This suggested that the two people had been chewing the leaves for other reasons. ..."
they discovered the remains of two people who had been mummified. Study of the remains showed that both had active components of the coca plant in their brains, which meant they had been chewing its leaves.
From the highlights and abstract:
"Highlights
• The paper presents the first evidence of Erythroxylum spp. in Europe in the 1600s.
• 17th century brain tissue with active components of coca plant was found.
• Archaeotoxicology backdates Erythroxylum spp. use by almost two centuries in Europe.
Abstract
Cocaine hydrochloride salts are one of the most commonly used drugs of our days, yet there is very little hard evidence regarding when people started consuming such an extensively popular drug in Europe. In this paper, we report the exceptional finding of Erythroxylum spp. in human remains dated to the 1600's in Milan, Italy.
Toxicological analyses were performed on preserved human brains revealing the first evidence of Erythroxylum spp. use in Europe before the 19th century, backdating our understanding of the presence of the plant by almost two centuries. Specifically, the alkaloid of cocaine was detected in two separate biological samples and can be associated to Erythroxylum spp. consumption. Given that the plant was not listed inside the detailed hospital pharmacopeia, it may not have been given as a medicinal remedy but may have been used for other purposes. This study demonstrates the importance and the potential of the application of toxicological analyses to archaeological contexts and allows to backdate the arrival of the Erythroxylum spp. in Europe by almost two hundred years."
Forensic toxicology backdates the use of coca plant (Erythroxylum spp.) in Europe to the early 1600s (open access)
Fig. 1. Signs of caries sicca on cranium C2, both photograph and X-rays image.
Fig. 8. Chromatographic spectrum (top) and mass spectral ion ratio (bottom) of cocaine detected in B9.
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