Diurnal fluctuations of cocaine and potential precursors in leaves of Erythroxylum coca.

Cocaine is abundant in leaves of Erythroxylum coca var. coca Lam. Consequently, cocaine and two of its early biosynthetic precursors were monitored for 24 h to determine whether they fluctuated diurnally. E. coca was grown under controlled environmental conditions in a growth chamber in soil at pH 3.5. After 17.5 months of growth, leaves not less than 35 days old were harvested every 2 and 4 h for 24 h for arginine, phenylalanine and cocaine content, respectively. The content of cocaine was determined by GC/MS and amino acid content by HPLC. Diurnal fluctuation of cocaine occurred during the 24 h cycle. Cocaine was highest in leaves of E. coca at 8 and 16 h where its content was 7.67 and 9.45 mg.g-1 dry weight, respectively. Arginine and phenylalanine in leaves of E. coca also displayed diurnal rhythmic patterns of fluctuation. The content of arginine declined from hours 6 to 12 and increased to the highest content at 13 h (21.8 mg.g-1 dry weight). Overall, phenylalanine content was lower than arginine, but had two peak periods of accumulation during the 24 h cycle, occurring at 8 and 14 h. The content of phenylalanine in leaves of E. coca during the peak hours was 6.98 and 6.54 mg.g-1 dry weight, respectively.