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Botanical illustration of Red Cinchona
MedicinalSourced entry

Red Cinchona

Cinchona pubescens

The Andean "fever tree" whose bark gave the world quinine, the first effective malaria treatment. Quinine is now a prescription drug with serious side effects.

Safety at a glance

Tap a box to read the safety notes below. “Nothing recorded” means our sources don't cover it, not that it's safe.

What is Red Cinchona?

Plant family
Rubiaceae, the coffee family
Parts used
The bark
Where it grows
The Andes of South America
Genus
Cinchona
Species
pubescens

Also called

Peruvian Bark, Fever Tree

Traditional names

Jesuit's Bark

Older scientific names

Cinchona succirubra

Traditionally used for

  • Malaria
  • Fever

Traditionally described as

  • Source of quinine and quinidine

Natural compounds

QuinineQuinidine

Safety

Who should avoid it

  • Don't use quinine for leg cramps. In the US, its label carries a boxed warning against this use, and long-term quinine use has been linked to a higher risk of death.[1]Study

Side effects

  • Quinidine can cause dangerous heart rhythm changes in 2–8% of people who take it, as well as low platelet counts, hepatitis and lupus-like reactions.[1]Study

Toxicity testing

  • Quinine has a narrow margin between a helpful and a harmful dose. Mild poisoning, called cinchonism, causes ringing in the ears, some hearing loss, headache, nausea, vision changes and dizziness on standing. Larger amounts can cause vertigo, vomiting, diarrhea, marked hearing loss and loss of vision. It can also cause low blood sugar and low blood pressure.[1]Study

What does the research say?

Traditional use

These are traditional uses, not proven treatments.

  • Cinchona bark from South America reached Europe in the 1630s, brought by Spanish Jesuit missionaries, and became famous as a cure for malaria fevers. It was known as "Peruvian bark" and "Jesuit's powder".[1]Study

Research in people

  • The bark's main compounds, quinine and quinidine, became medicines. Quinine is still used for severe malaria where other drugs aren't available, and in pregnant women. Quinidine is used for some heart rhythm and nerve conditions. Both are now made as purified drugs, and their use has declined because of side effects.[1]Study

In short

Quinine can cause hearing and vision loss, low blood sugar and heart rhythm problems.

Sources

  1. [1] The Fever Tree: from Malaria to Neurological Diseases · DOI: 10.3390/toxins10120491Peer-reviewed study

This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Unfamiliar word? See what these words mean.