Properties of the Medicinal Plant Cinchona
There are approximately 40 species of cinchona trees. Growing to a height of 50 to 100 feet with white, pink, or yellow flowers, the cinchona tree is grown commercially in numerous tropical countries for the medicinal value of its bark. According to legend, these trees derived their name from the countess of Chinchon who was supposedly healed of her malaria by a concoction made from the bark of the tree.
History
The cinchona tree is native to the Amazon highland region of South America where its bark was used as a curative agent for the treatment of fevers. Jesuit missionaries became acquainted with the medicinal properties of the plant and spread that information back to Europe. The demand for cinchona bark became so overwhelming that the plant was nearly harvested to extinction. In 1865, an enterprising smuggler named Charles Ledger managed to spirit some cinchona seedlings out of the continent and sell them to the Dutch who used them to establish cinchona groves in their colonies in Java. By the advent of World War II, Java virtually controlled the world market for cinchona bark.
Function
Quinine, a chemical compound derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, was the primary treatment for malaria during World War II. Because Java was controlled by the Japanese for most of the war, malaria-carrying mosquitoes presented a major obstacle for the U.S. military.
Features
Derivatives of the bark of various species of the cinchona were discovered to be effective in reducing fever in patients suffering from a number of different ailments as far back as the 1500s, although use did not become widespread for another 100 years. Because of its effectiveness in treating fevers, cinchona trees were often called "fever trees."
Identification
In 1820, French scientists Pierre Pelletier and Joseph Caventou identified the alkaloid compound now called quinine as the substance responsible for the plant's curative properties. Additional alkaloid compounds have since been identified in the plant's bark, including quinidine, is commonly used to treat such ailments as headache, cramps and abnormal heart rhythm.
Considerations
Anecdotal evidence suggests the bark of the cinchona tree may be effective in treating fatigue and exhaustion. Indigenous peoples throughout South America use it to treat sore throat pain, muscle cramps, arthritis and dysentery.
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