thumb|Kola nut – pod with half shell removed to reveal prismatic seeds inside their white [[testa (botany)|testa, and fresh seeds (whole without testa on the left and, on the right, split into cotyledons)]]

The kola nut is the seed of certain species of plant of the genus Cola, placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae, and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These species are trees native to the tropical rainforests of Africa. Their caffeine-containing seeds are used as flavoring ingredients in various carbonated soft drinks; the name "cola" for a variety of soft drink is derived from this use.

Description

thumb|[[Cola acuminata in flower: colored plate from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen ]]

thumb|Cola acuminata in fruit, also from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen

thumb|Kola nuts spread out for sale in the central market in [[Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso]]

About across, the kola nut is a nut of evergreen trees of the genus Cola, primarily of the species Cola acuminata and Cola nitida. Cola acuminata, an evergreen tree about 20 meters in height, has long, ovoid leaves pointed at both the ends with a leathery texture. The trees have cream-white flowers with purplish-brown striations, and star-shaped fruit consisting of usually five follicles. Inside each follicle, about a dozen prismatic seeds develop in a white seed-shell. The nut has a reddish or white color flesh on the inside, and has a sweet and rose-like aroma.

Chemistry

Preliminary studies of phytochemicals in kola nut indicate the presence of various constituents: caffeine (2–3.5%), theobromine (1.0–2.5%), theophylline, methylliberine, polyphenols, catechins, and phlobaphens (kola red), among others. When kept in a cool, dry place, kola nuts can be stored for a long time.

The crop's value makes it one of the most important indigenous cash crops in West Africa and is used as a means of social mobility.

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Production

In 2022, world production of kola nuts was , led by Nigeria with 55% of the total (table).

Uses

The kola nut has a bitter flavor and contains caffeine. The nut is a nervous system stimulant and is chewed in many West African countries, in both private and social settings. It is often used ceremonially, presented to chiefs or guests. Throughout history, kola nuts have been planted on graves as part of various rituals.

In folk medicine, kola nuts are considered useful for aiding digestion when ground and mixed with honey, and are used as a remedy for coughs.

Kola nuts are perhaps best known to Western culture as a flavoring ingredient and one of the sources of caffeine in cola and other similarly flavored beverages, although kola nut extract is no longer claimed on the labels of major commercial cola drinks such as Coca-Cola.

History

Human use of the kola nut, like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. A French voyager named Chevalier Des Marchais, who traveled to West Africa in the late 1720s, noted that the nut made the, "bitterest, our sourest Things taste Sweet after it." Kola nuts were used as an ingredient within Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola in 1886 and 1893 respectively.

Cola recipe

thumb|Coca-Cola advertisement, 1886

In the 1880s, a pharmacist in Georgia, John Pemberton, took caffeine extracted from kola nuts and cocaine-containing extracts from coca leaves and mixed them with sugar, other flavorings, and carbonated water to invent Coca-Cola, the first widely popular cola soft drink.

In culture

Used in cultural traditions of the Igbo people, the presentation of kola nuts to guests or in a traditional gathering shows good will. It is implemented in Yoruba religion both as an offering to orishas and as an instrument of divination.

A kola nut ceremony is briefly described in Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. The eating of kola nuts is referred to at least ten times in the novel, showing the kola nut's significance in pre-colonial 1890s Igbo culture in Nigeria. One of these sayings on kola nut in Things Fall Apart is "He who brings kola brings life." It is also featured prominently in Chris Abani's 2004 novel GraceLand. The kola nut is also mentioned in The Color Purple by Alice Walker, although it is spelled "cola".

The kola nut is mentioned in Bloc Party's song "Where is Home?" on the album A Weekend in the City. The lyric, setting a post-funeral scene for the murder of a black boy in London, reads, "After the funeral, breaking kola nuts, we sit and reminisce about the past." The kola nut is mentioned in the At the Drive-In song "Enfilade" on the album Relationship of Command. The kola nut is repeatedly mentioned in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Half of a Yellow Sun, which also features the phrase: "He who brings the Kola nut brings life."

<gallery>File:Cola-Acuminata-Heckel.jpg|Seeds of true / "female" kola (= Cola acuminata) compared and contrasted with those of bitter / "male" kola (= Garcinia kola)

File:Theobroma cacao - fruit, from inside, beans.jpg|Cocoa pod: fruit of (true) kola relative Theobroma cacao bisected to show similarity of structure to that of fruit of Cola acuminata</gallery>

References

  • Cola acuminata - (P.Beauv.) Schott & Endl., Plants For A Future, 2012
  • The Rise and Fall of Cocaine Cola