CINCHONA spp.

Cinchona is a small tree which thrives best at medium and high elevation in tropical or warm countries, and which requires an acid soil. In the Philippines it thrives best in Impalutao (762 meters) and Kaatoan (1,057 to 1,372 meters) in Bukidnon.

The tree is usually small-sized. The leaves are opposite, entire, elliptical, and pointed at both ends. The flowers are white or pinkish, occur in panicles, and have a pleasant odor. The corolla is tubular, 50lobed, and fringed along the edges with long hairs. The corolla is an ovoid or sub cylindrical capsule and has the peculiarity of opening from the base; it hangs downward, while the valves remain together at the tip. The seeds are numerous, flat, and winged all round.

Several species of Cinchona have been tried in the Philippines, and the weeding out of unsuitable species resulted in a concentration on three - C. ledgeriana Moens, C. succirubra Pavon, and C. officinalis Linn. It is to be marked that C. ledgeriana was for a long time regarded as C. calisaya Wedd., and is now sometimes called C. calisaya var. ledgeriana.

Marañon and Barlett discussed the history of the introduction of Cinchona in the Philippines. They also included a discussion of cinchona cultivation, the production of totaquina locally, and the therapeutic efficacy and standardization of Philippine totaquina. They assert that studies made on the therapeutic efficacy of Philippine totaquina have shown that the product compares favorably with quinine. Another excellent account of cinchona in the Philippines is given by Marañon, Perez, and Russell.

Goodson and Henry summarized the composition of the three febrifuges: A, B, and C:

	A	B	C
Quinine	15.6	1.8	5.5
Cinchonidine	16.9	1.5	4.7
Quinidine	3.9	4.3	5.4
Residual alkaloids	48.1	76.3	74.9
Crude cincochine	--------	------	52.8
Crystallisable cincochine	12.6	11.0	34.6
Crystallisable cincochine (with correction for solubility)	15.5	17.5	36.2
Quinoidine (by difference)	32.6	58.8	38.4
Ash	10.3	4.5	2.8
Moisture	3.9	7.3	1.8
Organic impurities (by difference)	1.3	4.3	4.9

Marañon and Gonzales conducted comparative analyses of totaquina preparations from three species of Philippine-grown cinchona with results as follows:

Constituents	Cinchona species
	C. ledgeriana	C. succirubra	C. hybrida
	Per cent	Per cent	Per cent
Quinine	71.60	18.88	42.17
Cinchonidine	9.40	46.89	24.04
Quinidine	6.02	7.01	6.29
Cinchonine	Traces	16.90	8.23
Total crystallizable alkaloids	87.02	89.68	80.73
Amorphous alkaloids	7.03	5.72	9.83
Total alkaloids	94.05	95.40	90.59
Moisture	3.12	1.38	4.93
Ash	2.53	1.59	2.86

About thirty alkaloids have been isolated from cinchona bark; but four are considered important; quinine, cinchonine, quinidine, and cinchonidine. Wehmer records all the alkaloids isolated.

The cortex of C. ledgeriana is official in the Argentine (1); Belgian (3); French (4); Italian (1-3); Russian (5,6); Swedish (9); Swiss (3); and United States (8-10); Pharmacopoeias; and the cortex of C. succirubra is official in the Argentine (1); Austrian (6-8); Belgian (2,3); British (1-5); Chilean (1); Croatico-Slavonican (1,2); Danish (4-7); Dutch (2-4) Finnish (2-5); French (3-5); Hungarian (2,3); Italian (1-3); Japanese (1-3); Mexican (1-4); Norwegian (3,4); Portuguese (2,3); Rumanian (2,3); Russian (1-6); Serbian (1,2); Spanish (6,7); Swedish (3,4); Swiss (3,4); United States (3-10); and Venezuelan (1,2) Pharmacopoeias.

Cinchona bark is well known as the source of quinine, which substance is used very effectively as a cure for malaria and also acts on the stomach as a bitter tonic. Physiologically, quinine lowers the body-temperature and so acts as a febrifuge. In curing malaria, it owes its efficiency to the fact that it kills the parasites in the blood, with the exception of those in the reproductive stages.

According to Grieve cinchona bark (C. succirubra) is a febrifuge, tonic, and astringent, being valuable for influenza, neuralgia, and debility. Large and too-constant doses must be avoided, as they produce headache, giddiness, and deafness. The liquid extract is useful as a cure for drunkenness. The powdered bark is often used in tooth powders, owing to its astringency; but is not much used internally (except as a bitter wine); it creates a sensation of warmth, but sometimes causes gastric intestinal irritation. Cinchona in decoction is a useful gargle and a good throat astringent.