A chemical compound that is produced when cocaine is broken down in the body, found naturally in coca leaves.
From Spanish 'ecgonina,' derived from Quechua ' coca' (the coca plant) and the chemical suffix '-in' indicating an alkaloid compound. The term emerged in the 19th century as chemists studied coca leaf chemistry.
Ecgonin is actually the metabolite your body creates to break down cocaine—so it's what forensic toxicologists look for in urine tests, making it criminally important even though it's technically a breakdown product, not the drug itself.
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