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The Curse of The Mummies

Cocaine and nicotine found in (Egyptian ?) mummies.
>The programe said that Nicotine could only come from tobacco found only 
in
>the "New World".
>Are cocaine type compounds found in other plants

Sorry about this Michael, but you did ask !

Besides the various tobacco species found in Australia, Africa and the
South Pacific there are other Solanaceous plants such as Duboisia hopwoodii
"pituri" which contain nicotine. Other plant families also have nicotine
containing genera including Pteridophytes like Equisetum and Lycopodium.

In the Journal of Ethnopharmacology 10 (3) 1984 "Biological activity of the
alkaloids of Erythroxylum coca and E.novogranatense" - M. Novák and his
companions reported nicotine as a constituent of coca leaves.

Cocaine (C17 H21 NO4) is the methyl benzoyl ester of a tropane alkaloid,
ecgonine, sharing the same heterocyclic ring as scopolamine (C17 H21 NO4),
hyoscyamine (C17 H23 NO3), and atropine (C17 H23 NO3).

The ancient Egyptians recorded their knowledge of Hyoscyamus species and
their brewing of Mandragora beer (mandragorine can be found by chemical
analysis of coca). Atropa (A. belladonna containing traces of nicotine),
and Datura species are also native to Mediterranean Africa.

One could propose that a Solanaceous species was used as a pain killer,
this might in itself contain nicotine or might have been used in
conjunction with a nicotine containing medicinal (Equisetum for stomach
problems by example).

Chemicals used in the embalming process, other medicines, or in the
analysis of the mummies chemistry might further complicate things (perhaps
forensic drug testing was involved, which might not include scopolamine as
a comparative sample) and interpretation of the results is in the eyes of
the researchers.

Best wishes,
Matt Sleigh
http://b-and-t-world-seeds.com/
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