KOLA NUTS

HOME | BIOLOGY | FILMS | GEOGRAPHY | HISTORY | INDEX | MUSIC | THE BOAT  | SOLAR BOATS  | SPONSORS

INTRODUCTION

Kola nuts, the seed of Cola nitida and Cola acuminata, are native to West africa. There it forms an intergrated part of the social life; the nuts are valued for it's stimulating, aphrodisiac and healing qualities. Extracts of these nuts are often found in energydrinks.

Kola nuts (or cola nuts) are the seed pods of various evergreen trees; Sterculiaceae cola vera is the scientific name of the most common species. The kola nut trees, which grow as tall as 60 feet (18 meters), are most common in Western Africa and the Atlantic coast area of Central Africa.

Cola nut pods

Kola nuts are important in many African societies, particularly in Western Africa. Besides the fact that Kola nuts contain caffeine and act as a stimulant and anti-depressant, they are also thought to reduce fatigue and hunger, aid digestion, and work as an aphrodisiac. In some parts of Africa, kola nuts are given as gifts to visitors entering a home, usually with some formal ceremony. Offering the kola nut is a gesture of friendship and hospitality. 

The kola nut ceremony is similar to the traditional American Indian peace pipe or breaking bread in a religious context. Elsewhere, before a marriage, a bag of kola nuts are often given by a groom to the parents of the bride. Kola nuts are a used in rituals performed by religious healers. Besides the ceremonial uses, many Africans consume kola nuts regularly, even daily, for the medicial effects described above. Kola nuts are a common sight in African markets in cities and villages. They are often sold by street vendors at bus and train depots. On a train or bus, a traveler with a kola nut will often offer a piece to the others nearby, whether he knows them or not.

Kola nuts are consumed by breaking them open and into pieces, then chewing the kola nut pieces as one chews gum. Most people find the taste very bitter, especially at first. Sometimes a knife is needed to cut the nut into pieces. The stimulative effect is similar to a strong cup of coffee.  Kola nuts are produced commercially in the African and American tropics. In their raw form they are rather hard to find outside the tropics, though some specialty/import grocery stores might sell them.

Kola nuts are best known outside of Africa as an ingredient in cola beverages. There is some evidence that the first kola (or cola) beverage was made by Western Africans who mixed water with dried or fermented kola nuts. Today, homemade cola drinks are very rare in Africa, though store-bought cola drinks are very popular. (Besides water, the most popular drinks throughout Africa are bottled soft drinks and beer.) Commercially produced cola drinks were developed in the late 1800s, when chemists and inventors the world over used kola nuts (as well as other exotic ingredients) in various drinks and tonics. The most famous of these is Coca-Cola, which has become a truly global beverage. More recently, kola nuts and kola nut extract have become popular in Europe and North America as a natural or alternative medicine.

What was that?

Circa 1990, Eddy L. Harris traveled solo across Africa, from Tunisia to South Africa. He recorded his thoughts and impressions in Native Stranger: A Black American's Journey into the Heart of Africa (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992). In this excerpt, traveling in a truck in Guinea, he tries kola nut for the first time.

In the back of the truck, someone offered me a little purple piece of something. It was shaped like garlic but looked like a radish. He cut it in half and gave a bit to me, popped the rest in his mouth. I did the same. And oh my God! what a horrid taste. It was like a jolt of lightning, the essence of bitterness. 

My body shuddered head to toe. We were so crowded in the back of the truck that the man next to me felt the violence of my shuddering and, by the way he looked at me, he must have thought that I was having some kind of seizure. There was no place to spit out this thing I was eating and I had to keep it in my mouth until finally I chewed it up and swallowed it. I thought to myself: I've got to stop putting strange things in my mouth. At least until I know what they are.

"What was that?" I asked.

"You don't know?" asked the astounded man who had given it to me. Perhaps he was astounded that I would eat something without knowing what it was. "It was cola nut. It gives you energy. It wakes you up."  "It certainly does," I said.

(The Misfortune in Men's Eyes: The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau)

Eddy L. Harris

The Congo Cookbook » Sitemap » 

Akara
Caakiri
Coconut Pie
Congo Bars
Dabo Kolo
Fool
Fritters
Fruit Salad
Kanyah
Kashata
Koki
Mandazi
Moyin-Moyin
Ngalakh
Sugar Peanuts
Recipe Indexes
Rare Recipes
About this Website
About Africa
About African Cooking

Cola nut powder

Cola nut trees have been important in Africa for centuries. Africans used the pods to ease labor pains; seeds to relieve diarrhea, nausea, and hangover. They chewed the nuts as a stimulant and used the roots to clean teeth and sweeten breath. Friends send nuts as invitations or congratulations.

Effects

You feel lively and talkative. Loss of appetite, concentration improves and your body will become highly sensitive.

Usage

Put 1 teaspoon in cold/warm milk or coffee. For a more serious energy boost, take 1 to 3 teaspoons.

Warning:  Cola nut contains caffeine; excessive use over long periods can be debilitating to the sexual function. It may also cause nervousness, insomnia and habituation.

Botanical Name: Cola nitida

Common Names and Synonyms: Kola, cola

Background: The cola tree grows 40 to 60 feet high and is native to the tropical rain forests of West Africa.  The leaves are about 10 inches long and leathery.  Small yellow flowers produce a brown pod that contains anywhere from 4 to 15 cola nuts.  The nut’s aroma is sweet and rose-like.  The first taste is bitter, but sweetens upon chewing.  The nut can be boiled to extract the cola. Cola nut is a breath sweetener and contains three times the caffeine of coffee. The original Coca-Cola contained cola leaf extracts (a source of cocaine prohibited in soft drinks in the U.S. after 1904.) Cola is a stimulant to the central nervous system, it is anti-depressive, and diuretic.
 

EFFECTS :

Enhances alertness and physical capacities, improves mood, supresses the appitite and has sexual stimulating effects.  Autonomic changes: elevation of body temperature, increases bloodpressure and increases respiratory rate.

DURATION :

Effects last (depending on the amount taken) for approximately 6 hours after ingestion.

Dosage and preparation

Usually the nuts are chewed, but a powder can also be taken. The taste is quite bitter. A stimulant dose consists of two to six grams.

Cola nuts

Botanical aspects

C. nitida is a member of Sterculiaceae; Tribus Sterculiae, subtribus Sterculiinae. While this genus probably originated from tropical West Africa (C. nitida is indigenous to Liberia, Senegal, Nigeria), it now grows in various tropical regions and in South East Asia.3
It is an evergreen tree that has glossy green leaves, violet striped flowers and star-shaped fruits. This tree reaches 25 meters in height and is propagated through seeds. C. nitida and C. acuminata can easily be interchanged with other Cola species

Phytochemistry

The active principles of cola nuts are methylxanthines; caffeine is the main active constituent, but theophylline, theobromine and catechine are also present. Concentrations are respectively 2- 3.5 % caffeine and 1% theobromine

 Xanthine

Table 1.10: Methylxanthine derivatives

Pharmacology

The pharmacological actions of caffeine, theophylline and theobromine (purine-base derived stimulants) are the result of three different biochemical alterations: 

(1) They inhibit phosphodiesterase, 

(2) they block (P-1) adenosine receptors (A1 and A2A) and 

(3) they cause the release of Ca2+ from the storage vesicles into the cytoplasma. 

Inhibition of phosphodiesterase will result in an increased cAMP 2nd messenger activity. Blockage of the adenosine receptors causes stimulation and the interference with Ca 2+ -ionchannel activities causes contraction of the smooth- and skeleton muscles.

It appears that 95 % of the methylxantines are metabolised by hydroxylation of carbon 8 and demethylation by Cytochrome-P-450 (A1, A2.) 1 Another common inactivation pathway is oxidation by Xanthinoxidase.

MODIFIERS :

- Kola nuts has positive synergistic effects with ephedrine (Ephedra sp.)
- MAO-inhibitors can cause hyperreactivity and suspiciousness.
- Combines well with alcohol

References

1. [Forth/ Henschler/ Rummel/ Fostermann/ Starke, 2001]
2. [Gottlieb]
3. [Ratsch, 1998]
4. [Snyder, 1996]

SOLOR COLA LAUNCH IN SUPPORT OF THE SOLAR NAVIGATOR WORLD NAVIGATION CHALLENGE

We are looking for distributors in America, Australia, Canada, Europe, and  Japan.  The state of the Cola market globally and in the UK is ripe for a fresh quality brand, with excellent potential for growth.  According to ResearchandMarkets.com  the UK drinks market is worth an estimated £53.5 billion, representing a 7% share of total consumer spending.  The global soft drinks market is roughly the same percentage of total consumer spending for developed countries.

Prospective investors in our company should consult their own independent investment advisers, and please note this information is provided for general guidance only.  It is not a prospectus, but is provided in response to the number of requests we have received asking for more information

For all trade enquiries please contact: Nelson Kruschandl  at: 

Cola mentions in the Cayce Readings

Cola syrup was mentioned in 62 readings, usually as a medicinal purifier of the kidneys.  Typically the cola syrup was to be taken with plain water, not carbonated as with the modern day soft drink.  See the extracts below :-

257-167  (A)  Cola for the body is a stimulant, and will aid at times and deter at others.  Taken when tired, very good; but do not gulp - drink slowly.

2084-3 - (A)  Generally, Cola is not harmful; but some others might be harmful.  If the drink is prepared with the syrup added to plain and not carbonated water, it would be more beneficial.

487-22 -   Drink plenty of water during the day.  Milk, ice cream or the like is very good.  When drinks are taken, let such as these be rather as an extra drink and not too regularly.

2853-1 - A drink made Kola syrup will be helpful to the kidneys for purification, owing to the forms of combinations in same, this should be made with plain and not carbonated waters.

3081-1 -   The only soft drink to be taken would be a Cola.  This is helpful in the condition through the kidneys, and in the circulation between liver and kidneys.

3109-1 -  Here we find that a Cola drink will be good to purify the circulation between the kidneys and the liver, used in plain water.  The effect of the tannic forces will be helpful for this condition.  Two to three ounces will suffice three to four times a week.

5097-1 -     Take cola syrup occasionally as a drink for the activity of the kidneys, but do not take it with carbonated water.  Take about 1/2 oz. or 1 oz. of the syrup and add plain water. This to be taken about every other day with or without ice.  This will aid in purifying the kidney activity and bladder and will be better for the body.

A taste for adventure capitalists

Solar Cola - a healthier alternative

This website is Copyright © 1999 & 2006  NJK.   The bird logo and name Solar Navigator and Solar Cola are trademarks. All rights reserved.  All other trademarks are hereby acknowledged.       Max Energy Limited is an educational charity.

AUTOMOTIVE  |  BLUEBIRD  |  ELECTRIC CARS  |  ELECTRIC CYCLES  |  SOLAR CARS