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What people say makes us excited::
The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs By Leslie Taylor, ND ; New Book! ; Available January 30, 2005
page 397:
Hemorrhoids : Sangre de Grado, Brazilian peppertree, copaiba, vassourinha, epazote, erva tostao, passionflower, picao preto, chuchuhuasi, artichoke, quinine, yerba mate, nettle
Medicinal Plants of the Amazon
Family: Rubiaceae Genus: Cinchona Species: offidnalis, ledger- iana, sucdrubra, calisaya Common Names: quinine bark, quina, quinine, kinakina, China bark, cinchona bark, yellow cinchona, red cinchona, Peruvian bark, Jesuit's bark, quina-quina, calisaya bark, fever tree Parts Used: bark, wood TRIBAL AND HERBAL MEDICINE USES |
HERBAL PROPERTIES AND ACTIONS
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Main Actions
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Other Actions
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Standard Dosage
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• treats malaria
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• relieves pain
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Bark
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• kills parasites |
• kills bacteria |
Decoction: 1 / 2 cup one to three times daily |
• reduces fever
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• kills fungi
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• regulates heartbeat
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• dries secretions
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Tablets/Capsules: 2 g twice daily
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• stimulates digestion
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• calms nerves
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Tincture: 1-2 ml two to three times daily
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• kills germs
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• reduces spasms
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• kills insects
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The Cinchona genus contains about forty species of trees. They grow 15-20 m in height and produce white, pink, or yellow flowers. All cinchonas are indige nous to the eastern slopes of the Amazonian area of the Andes, where they grow from 1,500-3,000 m in elevation on either side of the equator (from Colom bia to Bolivia). They can also be found in the northern part of the Andes (on the eastern slopes of the central and western ranges). They are now widely culti vated in many tropical countries for their commercial value, although they are not indigenous to those areas.
Cinchona, or quinine bark, is one of the rainforest's most famous plants and most important discoveries. Legend has it that the name cinchona came from the count ess of Chinchon, the wife of a Peruvian viceroy, who was cured of a malarial type of fever by using the bark of the cinchona tree in 1638. It was supposedly intro duced to European medicine in 1640 by the countess of Chinchon, even before botanists had identified and named the species of tree. Quinine bark was first advertised for sale in England in 1658, and was made official in the British Phar macopoeia in 1677. Physicians gave credit to the drug and, because of its effec tiveness with malaria, it was recognized officially even while the identity of the tree species remained unknown. Several years after the "Countess's powder" arrived in England, it arrived in Spain. There, quinine bark was used by the Jesuits very early in the group's history and due to the influence of the Compa ny of Jesus, the newly named "Jesuit's powder" became known all over Europe. When the plant was finally botanically classified almost one hundred years later in 1737, botanists still named it after the countess for her contribution.
Throughout the mid-1600s to mid-1800s, quinine bark was the primary treat ment for malaria and it evidenced remarkable results. It was also used for fever, indigestion, mouth and throat diseases, and cancer.
Throughout the mid- 1600s to mid-ISOOs, quinine bark was the primary treatment for malaria and it evidenced remarkable results. It was also used for fever, indigestion, mouth and throat diseases, and cancer. |
Natural quinine bark is still employed in herbal medicine systems around the world today. In Brazilian herbal medicine, quinine bark is considered a tonic, a digestive stimulant, and fever reducer. It is used for anemia, indigestion, gastrointestinal disorders, general fatigue, fevers, malaria, and as an appetite stimulant. Other folk remedies in South America cite quinine bark as a natural remedy for cancer (breast, glands, liver, mesentery, spleen), amebic infections, heart problems, colds, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, fevers, flu, hangover, lumbago, malaria, neuralgia, pneumonia, sciatica, typhoid, and vari cose veins. In European herbal medicine, the bark is considered antiprotozoal, antispasmodic, antimalarial, a bitter tonic, and a fever reducer. There it is used as an appetite stimulant; for hair loss; alcoholism; liver, spleen, and gallbladder disorders; and to treat irregular heartbeat, anemia, leg cramps, and fevers of all kinds. In the U.S., quinine bark is used as a tonic and digestive aid; to reduce heart palpitations and normalize heart functions; to stimulate digestion and appetite; for hemorrhoids, varicose veins, headaches, leg cramps, colds, flu, and indigestion; and for its astringent, bactericidal, and anesthetic actions in vari ous other conditions.
In 1820 two scientists, Pelletier and Caventou, isolated an alkaloid chemical in the bark that provided the highest antimalarial effect, and named it quinine. Once discovered, methods were developed to extract only the quinine alkaloid from the natural bark to sell as an antimalarial drug.
The South American rainforests benefited from the income generated by harvesting cinchona bark for the extraction of this alkaloid from the bark for the manufacture of quinine drugs. In the middle of the nineteenth century, though, seeds of Cinchona calisaya and Cinchona pubescens were smuggled out of South America by the British and the Dutch. The calisaya species was plant ed and cultivated in Java by the Dutch and the pubescens species was cultivat ed in India and Ceylon by the British. However, the quinine content of these species was too low for high-grade, cost effective, commercial production of quinine. The Dutch then smuggled seeds of Cinchona ledgeriana out of Bolivia, paying $20 for a pound of seeds, and soon established extensive plantations of quinine-rich cinchona trees in Java. They quickly dominated the world pro duction of quinine and, by 1918, the majority of the world's supply of quinine was under the total control of the Dutch "kina burea" in Amsterdam. Huge profits were reaped—but Bolivia and Peru, from which the resource originat ed, saw none of it.
PLANT CHEMICALS In addition to the quinine alkaloid, another alkaloid chemical called quinidine was discovered to have beneficial effects for the heart. Quinidine, a compound produced from quinine, is still used in cardiology today, sold as a prescription drug for arrhythmia. |
The upheavals of the Second World War led to changes in the market, which still remain in effect today. When Java was occupied by the Japanese in 1942, the Allies' supply of quinine was cut off. South American sources of cinchona trees and quinine bark were once again in demand, but new plantations were planted by the Allies in Africa as well. This dire shortage of quinine fueled research for developing and producing a synthetic version of the quinine alka loid, rather than relying on the natural bark. In 1944, scientists were able to syn- thesixe the quinine alkaloid in the laboratory. This led to various synthesized and patented quinine drugs which were manufactured by several pharmaceu tical companies and were of course, highly profitable.
Today, Indonesia and India still cultivate cinchona trees; however Africa, with the expansions of the old WWII plantations, has emerged as the lead ing supplier of quinine bark. Much lower on the list of producers are the South American countries of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, still struggling to compete. Although all cinchona species are good sources of quinine, C. suc- cirubra and C. ledgeriana are the species containing the highest amount of quinine alkaloids—which is why they are the species of choice for cultiva tion today.
The cardiac effects of cinchona bark were noted in academic medicine at the end of the seventeenth century. Quinine was used sporadically through the first half of the eighteenth century for cardiac problems and arrhythmia and it became a standard of cardiac therapy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Another alkaloid chemical called quinidine was discovered to be respon sible for this beneficial cardiac effect. Quinidine, a compound produced from quinine, is still used in cardiology today, sold as a prescription drug for arrhythmia. The sales demand for this drug still generates the need for har vesting natural quinine bark today, because scientists have been unsuccessful in synthesizing this chemical without utilizing the natural quinine found in cinchona bark.
The main plant chemicals found in quinine include aricine, caffeic acid, cinchofulvic acid, cincholic acid, cinchonain, cinchonidine, cinchonine, cin- chophyllamine, cinchotannic acid, cinchotine, conquinamine, cuscamidine, cuscamine, cusconidine, cusconine, epicatechin, javanine, paricine, proantho- cyanidins, quinacimine, quinamine, quinic acid, quinicine, quinine, quinini- dine, quinovic acid, quinovin, and sucirubine.
Interestingly enough, natural quinine extracted from quinine bark and the use of natural bark tea and/or bark extracts are making a comeback in the management and treatment of malaria. Malaria strains have evolved that have developed a resistance to the synthesized quinine drugs. It was shown in early studies that an effective dose of natural quinine bark extract elicited the same antimalarial activity as an effective dose of the synthesized quinine drug. 1 Scientists are now finding that these new strains of drug-resistant malaria can be treated effectively with natural quinine and/or quinine bark extracts. As evolving pathogens develop widespread resistance to our standard antibiotics, antivirals, and antimalarial drugs, it is of little wonder that the use of the natural medicine in quinine bark is being revisited, even by such giants as the World Health Organization.
A recent use for quinine drugs has been for the treatment of muscle spasms and leg cramps. A 1998 study documented the beneficial effects of quinine for leg cramps, with tinnitus being the only documented side effect. 2 In 2002, a double-blind placebo study was undertaken in which ninety-eight people with nocturnal leg cramps were given 400 mg of quinine daily for two weeks. 3 The results stated that quinine administered at this dose effectively reduced the fre quency, intensity, and pain of leg cramps without relevant side effects. This use has fueled the natural product market and more people are looking for natural quinine bark as an alternative to the synthesized prescription drugs.
Quinine bark is harvested today much as it has been for hundreds of years. The tree trunks are beaten and the peeling bark is removed. The bark partially regen erates on the tree and, after a few years and several cycles of bark removal, the trees are uprooted and new ones are planted. The commercial quinine market today is difficult to calculate. It is thought that 300-500 metric tons of quinine alkaloids are extracted annually from 5,000-10,000 metric tons of harvested bark. Nearly half of the harvest is directed to the food industry for the production of quinine water, tonic water, and as an PDA-approved bitter food additive. The remainder is utilized in the manufacture of the quinidine prescription drug. Qui nine is very bitter tasting and commercially sold tonic waters often use quinine as their bitter ingredient/component. Commercially produced tonic water usu ally contains around 100-300 parts per million quinine and up to a maximum allowable concentration of 70 mg of quinine per liter.
The long-standing natural remedy for quinine bark usually calls for 1 cup of boiling water to be poured over approximately 1-2 g of ground or chopped nat ural bark and allowed to steep for ten minutes. A cupful of this infusion is drunk half an hour before meals to stimulate the appetite, or after meals to treat digestive disorders. The use of pure quinine at large dosages can be toxic. The reported therapeutic oral dose for quinine alkaloids in adults is between 167-333 mg three times per day- 2 Reportedly, a single dose of 2-8 g of pure quinine alkaloids taken orally may be fatal to an adult. 2 Natural bark teas pre pared in the traditional manner, however, have a long history of use without toxic effects. A cup of traditional quinine bark tea would provide approximately 100 mg of total alkaloids, including quinine (based upon an average of 5 percent total alkaloid content in the raw bark).
The history of the cinchona tree provides a perfect example of how a natu ral product can go from folklore and indigenous use into world trade—and then into the drug market. It's also indicative of how indigenous peoples and countries with important natural resources are too often pirated and left out of the profit loop by industrialized nations and rich, multinational, profit- driven organizations. Despite the fact that quinine and quinidine drugs were patented and sold, Peru and Bolivia—from which the discovery was made and the resources extracted—did not share in the patents or resulting profits. Their natural resources were smuggled out, and profitable world markets were cre ated from them. These were poor, developing nations without multinational backing or investment capital—and ended up at the bottom of the heap while competing in a global market for resources indigenous to their countries.
While governments are making inroads and there are new laws concerning biodiversity and intellectual property rights to correct this situation, business still has a long way to go to "do the right thing." Ideally, if natural quinine bark makes a comeback in the growing natural products industry or new drugs are developed for these drug-resistant strains of malaria, these new laws will pro tect the natural resources of these developing nations.
One-half cup bark decoction is taken one to three times daily, or 1-2 ml of a 4:1 tincture twice daily. If desired, 1-2 g daily of powdered bark in tablets or cap sules can be substituted.
Contraindications |
Quinine bark contains naturally occurring quinine alkaloids. These quinine alkaloids are sold as prescription drugs with numerous side effects and warnings documented in the literature. Do not exceed the quinine bark natural rem edy amounts shown above unless you are under the care and advice of a qualified health care practitioner who is familiar with the warnings, side effects, and contraindications of higher therapeutic levels of quinine alkaloids.
Drug Interactions May potentiate blood-thinning medications such as Warfarin.®
Worldwide Ethnomedical Uses
Region Brazil Europe Mexico United Venezuela Elsewhere |
Uses
for anemia, anorexia, debility, digestive sluggishness, dyspepsia, fatigue, fevers, gastrointestinal disorders, indigestion, malaria
for alcoholism, anemia, cramps, debility, diarrhea, enlarged spleen, fevers, flatulence, gallbladder disorders, hair loss, irregular heartbeat, leg cramps, liver disorders, malaria, muscle pain, protozoal infections, and as an antiseptic and appetite stimulant for malaria and as an antiseptic, astringent, and tonic, for bacterial infections, colds, digestive disorders, dyspepsia, fevers, flu, headaches, heart palpitations, hemorrhoids, leg cramps, malaria, pain, varicose veins, viral infections; and as an appetite stimulant,
astringent, and cardiotonic, for cancer and malaria, for amebic infections, bacterial infections, carditis, colds, cough, dandruff, diarrhea, digestive sluggishness, dysentery, dyspepsia, fever, flu, glandular disorders, hangovers, hemorrhoids, lumbago, malaria, neuralgia, pain, pinworms, pneumonia, sciatica, septic infections, sore throat, stomatitis, tumor (glands), typhoid, varicose veins; and as a contraceptive, insecticide, insect repellent, stimulant, and uterine tonic.
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