Quinine is a fever-reducing drug used in the treatment of malaria. It is a white, odorless, crystalline powder with a bitter taste. It comes from the bark of the cinchona tree originally found in South America. Because of the demand for quinine, the tree is now raised in the East Indies, Jamaica, Java, and other tropical countries. To prepare quinine, the bark is stripped from the trees and dried. It is then ground into a powder, from which the quinine is extracted.
Cinchona bark was used in early times by the Inca Indians of South America, who called it quinaquina. It was introduced in Europe in 1640, when it was used to cure the fever of the wife of the Peruvian Viceroy. She was Countess Cinchón, for whom the cinchona tree was named.
Before World War II, most quinine came from the Dutch East Indies. When the Dutch East Indies fell into Japanese hands, the supply of quinine for the Allied troops fighting in the tropics was cut off. It was necessary to develop synthetic drugs for the control of malaria, and atabrine became the best known.
Quinine is also used as a remedy for joint and muscle pain and for headaches, in the treatment of varicose veins, and as an appetite stimulant.
