The healing power of quinine

1. The quinine tree grows to a height of 15 to 20 meters and has pink or yellow flowers. This tree is originally mainly found in the rainforests of Brazil. The trees are also found in Ecuador and Bolivia. They grow up to 3000 meters in the South American Andes Mountains. Today the quinine tree is grown all over tropical areas. It has great commercial and medicinal value. This tree is the basis for a medicine against malaria. The bark of the quinine tree can be used to make a medicinal tea against malaria, among other things.

Contents:

1. Naming the quinine tree History of quinine Traditional use in naturopathy The Netherlands as the main quinine producer Quinidine for heart problems Natural quinine works better than synthetic ones Quinine in soft drinks and tea Quinine for leg cramps Quinine for heart problems

Naming the quinine tree

1. The Latin scientific name for quinine is Cinchona officinalis. According to legend, the Countess of Chinchon was the first to be cured of malaria using the bark of the quinine tree. Countess Chincon was the wife of a Peruvian viceroy. The Latin name of this plant is named after her. Officinalis means 'medicine' or actually: 'from the workplace of the pharmacist'. All medicinal plants were given the addition 'officinalis'. The Dutch name quinine is a corruption of the Latin name or the name of the Peruvian countess.

History of quinine

1. The Countess of Chincon introduced the bark of the quinine tree to European travelers before the botanists knew which tree it was. Quinine was first advertised as a medicine in 1658. That happened in England. It was called Countess Powder in the 17th century. When the Spanish Jesuits came into contact with this powder, its name changed to Jesuit powder. Under this name, quinine became known throughout Europe in the 18th century. In addition to malaria, quinine was used for fever, indigestion, mouth and throat problems and cancer.

Traditional use in natural medicine

1. In herbal medicine around the world, quinine bark is used as a general tonic or tonic. It is also a means that aids digestion. It suppresses the fever. It is also used for anemia, indigestion, stomach and intestinal disorders, general fatigue, malaria and as an appetite stimulant. It is also a natural agent used in many types of cancer such as breast, gland, liver, spleen and colon cancer. It is also an agent that can be used for heart problems, colds, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, flu, alcohol hangover, lumbago or low back pain, neuralgia, pneumonia, sciatica, typhoid and varicose veins. In European herbal medicine it is seen as a remedy for hair loss, alcoholism and liver, spleen and gallbladder disturbances. It can also be used for cardiac arrhythmias, anemia or anemia and leg cramps. In the U.S. In addition to the aforementioned diseases, quinine is used for heart problems, hemorrhoids and headaches.

The Netherlands as the most important quinine producer

1. Quinine is the most important medical component of the quinine tree. This alkaloid was first extracted in 1820. Since then, this extract has been mainly sold as an anti-malarial drug. In the middle of the 19th century, Dutch and English traders managed to 'smuggle' quinine seeds from South America. The Dutch paid 20 dollars for a pound of quinine seed and thus set up a plantation in the Dutch East Indies on the island of Java. By 1918, the Javanese quinine plantation had grown into the world's leading quinine producer. The world trade in quinine was controlled by the Amsterdam Kina bureau. At the time, the Netherlands had quinine factories in Semarang, Maarssen and Amsterdam. The ethnic population of Bolivia and Peru saw with sorrow that their quinine tree had been stolen from South America and that the enormous profits it made in the Kingdom of the Netherlands were not reflected. In World War II, the Allies were cut off from Javanese quinine production. After all, the Dutch East Indies was occupied by the Japanese. People began to get quinine from South America again. Quinine plantations were also established in Africa. Furthermore, diligent research was done into how to make quinine into a synthetic substance. In 1944 scientists succeeded in synthesizing quinine and turning it into anti-malarial drugs. Today, quinine plantations are still maintained in Indonesia and the former British colony of India, but the largest quinine producer is Africa. Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador are only small producers.

Quinidine for heart problems

1. In addition to quinine, the quinine tree contains quinidine or quinidine. This substance is used to treat and cure heart problems. Especially cardiac arrhythmias can be treated effectively with it. Quinidine is also an important reason to still harvest the quinine bark, as this substance has never been synthesized by scientists. Other substances in the bark of the quinine tree are: aricin, coffee acid, cinchofulvic acid, cincholid acid, cinchonaine, cinchonidine, cinchonine, cinchophylllamine, cinchotannidic acid, cinchotine, conquinamine, cuscamidine, cuscamine, cusconidine, cusconine, quinocyanicin, cusconine, epicatechine quinamine, quinidic acid, quinicine, quinovidic acid, quinovine and sucirubin. Incidentally, the trees C. ledgeriana and C. succirubra contain a lot more alkaloids and quinine than the C. officimalis.

Natural quinine works better than synthetic ones

1. The use of tea-based quinine bark is somewhat recurring. Since the early 90s of the 20th century, it appears that the parasites that cause malaria are increasingly immune to synthetic quinine. No malaria parasite has ever become immune to the natural variant. Incidentally, this is a universal phenomenon; germs appear to be able to defend themselves a lot better against synthetic medicines than against the natural, original medicinal plants. Especially in the field of antibiotics, the immune system from pathogenic bacteria is becoming a problem at the beginning of the 21st century.

Quinine in soft drinks and tea

1. Tonic contains the medicinal extract quinine. Quinine tastes slightly bitter. In combination with the sweetness, this gives a refreshing drink. Quinine tea is also quite bitter and refreshing. However, tonic is by no means a medicinal drink. You cannot drink a tonic for fever, malaria, heart rotting or leg cramps. There is too much sugar and not enough quinine in the tonic to make it a medicinal soft drink. Those who want to use quinine can best turn to making quinine tea. You can make quinine tea by using one or two grams of chopped quinine bark for a cup of tea. You let the water steep for 10 minutes. Never take a pure quinine supplement; that can be fatal. But a cup of quinine tea is actually very healthy. You can drink that one to three times a day. If you have malaria it is important to use the maximum dose. Alternatively, you can drink a 4: 1 tincture twice a day or take one to two grams of powdered bark in a tablet or capsule form.

Quinine for leg cramps

1. In 2002 a double-blind controlled study was conducted into the use of quinine against leg cramps. It turned out that quinine is a much more effective drug than existing synthetic drugs. Moreover, quinine has almost no side effects. In 1995 an American study had already found that people report that they suffer less from leg cramps when they take quinine. The same study reports that leg cramps are a subjective matter. So it is difficult to measure what the results are. When taking the blood thinner warfarin, you should be careful with quinine. Better than to stop warfarin and turn to natural blood thinners.

Quinine for heart problems

1. Diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a disease with many degenerative developments. French scientific research from 2013 shows that heart disease associated with diabetes can be treated with medicines based on quinine. The study also concluded that people with heart problems without a diabetic background benefit from quinine.