Cinchona

Cinchona spp.

An evergreen tree, growing to between 50 and 100 feet, cinchona has leaves that are flat and broad, with a shiny green surface and large veins. The flower is white and elongated, covered thickly with silky hairs.

During World War II, as American troops fought their way from island to island across the South Pacific, they faced more than a formidable human enemy. Deadly microscopic foes also lay in wait in the tropical jungles. They were protozoans of the genus Plasmodium that, when injected into a human through the needle-fine proboscis of a mosquito, cause the debilitating disease malaria.

The chemical weapon of choice against malaria came from the bark of quinine cinchona, which were then cultivated largely on the Indonesian island of Java. But Java was in enemy hands, and so little cinchona was available for U.S. troops. Only with the development of a synthetic substitute for cinchona could the battle against both microscopic and human enemies be won.

Java was not the original home of these tall, broad-leaved evergreens, with their fragrant clusters of small rose-red flowers. In the early 17th century they-and the curative powers of their bitter-tasting bark-had been discovered by Spanish priests in South America's Andes mountains. It was here, in rain forests at elevations between 3,000 and 11,000 feet, that all 40 Cinchona species thrived.

Before too many years, all of Europe was alerted to the miracle cure contained in the bark of about a dozen species of what was then called the fever tree (for not only did the powdered bark cure malaria, it lowered fevers of all kinds). Still, most physicians refused to use the new medicine. It was being promoted by Jesuit priests, deeply hated across much of Europe at the time. For a while "Jesuits' bark," or "Jesuit powder," was all but barred in countries where malaria was exacting a terrible toll in human life. But need finally overcame prejudice, and by the end of the 17th century powdered cinchona bark was being used around the world to treat malaria. It was not a pleasant remedy-mixed in water, the powder made a bitter liquid that had to be drunk often-and the dosage was far from precise, but it worked.

In 1820 two French scientists, Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Caventou, identified the substance in the bark that cures malaria. It is an alkaloid that the scientists called quinine, after quina, the native Indian word for bark. Other alkaloids have since been identified in cinchona bark. Among these is quinidine, used today to treat abnormal rhythms of the heart, to relieve muscle cramps, and to aid in the treatment of headache.

In the 19th century, the demand for cinchona bark was so great that the trees were almost eliminated from South America. Many nations attempted to cultivate various species of  cinchona in tropical areas that they controlled. The Dutch turned out to be the most successful, and the place they chose was Java. Today, most of the world's cinchona supply comes from central Africa, Indonesia, and South America -where the tree has been reestablished.

Other names

• Cinchona Bark
• Peruvian Bark
• Quinine Tree

Parts used

Bark.

Uses

Cinchona was reputedly named for the Spanish Countess Chinchon, who recovered from a fever by using the bark. The countess had it sent to Europe, where it became known by her name. When Jesuits visited Peru in the 17th century, they discovered that the native people chewed on cinchona bark to prevent the shaking and chills they suffered after working in icy streams for the Spanish mines. Linking the shaking from cold to the shaking during a malarial fever, the Jesuits tried chewing the bark to treat malaria. Because some strains of the bark are less potent, it did not always cure malaria, which led to the distrust and persecution of many Jesuits in Europe.

French chemists J.B. Caventou and P.J. Pelletier isolated the alkaloid quinine from the cinchona bark in 1820. And in 1944 American scientists synthesized quinine in the laboratory. From this came various quinine-based medications, such as chloroquine and primaquine, for the treatment of malaria. Recently certain resistant strains of malaria pathogens have been identified, sparking debate about the effectiveness of the whole plant over a synthetic chemical. People around the world still use the natural bark in herbal remedies. In Brazil, cinchona is considered an appetite stimulant and a cure for fatigue. In Venezuela people use the bark as a remedy for cancers. Cinchona bark is also the source of the medication quinidine, used to treat cardiac arrhythmias.

Traditional remedy - The indigenous people of Peru have taken cinchona for many centuries, and it is still a well used remedy for fevers, digestive problems, and infections.
Antimalarial - Cinchona, and in particular quinine, were the principal remedies for malaria until World War I. From the 1960s on, resistance of the malarial parasite to the synthetic medication chloroquine led to quinine's use once again in preventing and treating malaria. Quinine is also used to treat other acute feverish conditions.
Digestive stimulant - As a bitter tonic, cinchona stimulates saliva, digestive secretions, and the appetite, and improves weak digestive function.
Gargle Cinchona is useful as a gargle for sore, infected throats.
Muscle spasms - Cinchona is used in herbal medicine for cramps, especially night cramps. Cinchona also relieves arthritis.
Indian remedy - In India, cinchona is used to treat sciatica and dysentery; as well as problems associated with kapha.

Habitat & cultivation

Native to mountainous tropical regions of South America, especially Peru, cinchona is now also grown in India, Java, and parts of Africa, and is cultivated intensively on tree farms. The trees are propagated from cuttings in late spring, and the bark of the trunk, branches, and root are removed from 6- to 8- year-old trees, and then dried in the sun. The annual production of cinchona bark has been estimated at about 8,000 tons a year.

Research

Pharmacology - Cinchona has been thoroughly researched, and its pharmacological actions are well established.
Quinine - Quinine is both strongly antimalarial and antibacterial. Like the other alkaloids, it is antispasmodic.
Bitter - The bitter constituents in cinchona, including the alkaloids and quinovin, produce a reflex stimulation of the digestion as a whole, increasing stomach secretions.
Quinidine - A cardiac depressant, qinidine is known to reduce heart rate and improve irregularity of heartbeat.

Constituents

Cinchona contains alkaloids (up to 15%), mainly quinoline alkaloids (quinine, quinidine), and also indole alkaloids (cinchonamine)
Bitter triterpenic glycosides (quinovin)
Tannins
Quinic acid

How much to take

Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 teaspoonful of the bark and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day.
Tincture: take 1- 2ml of the tincture three times a day.

Collection & harvesting

The bark is collected by felling the six to eight year old trees and then stripping the bark.

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