Importance and chemical composition

Importance and chemical composition

    • Cinchona belongs to the family, Rubiaceae which has about 65 species.

    • Among these species, Cinchona succirubra, C.officinalis, C.ledgeriana, C.robusta and C.hybrida are grown commercially for cinchona bark which is the source of quinine and other anti-malarial drugs.

    • In addition, more than twenty other alkaloids have been isolated from cinchona, of which cinchonidine, quinidine and cinchonine are the most important.

    • The alkaloids exist chiefly as salts of quinic and cinchotannic acids and their relative concentrations vary in different species.

    • The leaves contain 1% total alkaloids.

    • In addition to the alkaloids, the bark also contains the bitter glycoside, a-quinovin, cinchofulvic, cinchotannic and quinic acids, a bitterish essential oil possessing the odour of the bark, and a red colouring matter.

    • Quinovin, on hydrolysis, yields quinonic acid, and mannitan.

    • The alkaloids are formed during the descent of the sap, and their concentration is low in twigs and increases down the stem to a maximum in the root-bark.

    • In C.ledgerina, almost 90% of the total alkaloids of the stem-bark is quinine, while of the total alkaloids of the root-bark, only 60% is quinine.

    • Besides, quinine was in use as an anesthetic as a substitute for cocaine.

    • Its anesthetic action is prolonged.

    • It has been used as a sclerosing agent in the treatment of internal hemorrhoids and varicose veins.

    • Quinine protects the skin against sunburn.

    • It is a bitter tonic, stomachic and appetizer.

    • Salts of quinine are employed in beverages, as an addition to hair-oils, as a vulcanization accelerator in the rubber industry, for making polarized lenses and have various other uses in photography and optics.

Last modified: Tuesday, 3 April 2012, 6:19 AM