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Peruvian Bark Cinchona spp

Benefits | Preparation | Medicinal Uses | Peruvian Bark Remedies | Side Effects | Plant | Folklore

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Cinchona pubescens (flowers)
Cinchona pubescens (flowers)
Common Names
Peruvian Bark , Red Bark. Jesuits' Powder. Cinchona Bark
Botanical Name
Cinchona spp
Family
RUBIACEAE Madder Family
Peruvian Bark Medicinal Properties & Benefits
Common Uses:
Properties: Analgesic* Febrifuge* Antiparasite* Astringent*
Parts Used: bark
Constituents:alkaloids, quinine, cinchonidine, cinchonine, quinidine, hydrocinchonidine, quinamine, homocinchonidine, hydroquinine, quinic and cincholannic acids, bitter amorphous glucoside, starch and calcium oxalate
Traditions: Central and South America *

Jesuit's Powder, also called Peruvian Bark, or Cinchona, is the historical remedy for all forms of malaria. The powdered bark of this South American Andes tree is the source of quinine, which became famous for the treatment of malaria, fever and pain in the 17th century. Its main active principle, quinine, is now chemically synthesized. The term quinine comes from the Peruvian ghina, or quina-quina. Another compound in chinchona, quinidine, is now a standard anti-arrhythmic medication. Quinine is the source of the bitter taste in tonic water. The mixed drink gin and tonic originated in British colonial India when the British population would mix their medicinal quinine tonic with gin to make it more palatable.

Side Effects:
The FDA has banned off label uses of the drug Quinine sulfate due to reports of possible side effects. Tonic water is still a safe home remedy for nighttime leg cramps, however, it is very dilute and generally contains less than 1 percent of the amount of quinine found in a typical therapeutic dose of the drug.
How to Use: Peruvian Bark
Preparation Methods & Dosage :

remedyRemedies using : Peruvian Bark

referencesPeruvian Bark Medicinal Uses & Benefits
Cinchona bark for :Cardiac arrhythmia
Cardiac arrhythmia A key compound in Cinchona bark is quinidine, now a standard anti-arrhythmic medication. Quinidine is not the only helpful compound in the herb, however; there are more than a dozen. Since you get a few of these compounds when you drink tonic water, I'd drink plenty of tonic if I had arrhythmia.

James Duke, The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook (2000)

Peruvian Bark for :Sore Throat
Sore Throat Febrifuge, tonic and astringent; 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 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.

Maud Grieve, Modern Herbal Vol 1 (1931)

Plant Description

Cinchona calisaya - Koeh
Cinchona calisaya - Koeh

  • Flowers:White, pink or red, in terminal panicles
  • Plant Class:Large Shrub, or small tree 5-15 meters tall
  • Leaves: Evergreen, lanceolate
  • Fruit: Small capsule containing many seeds
  • Preferred Habitat:Tropical
  • Bark:The bark is spongy, very slight odour, taste astringent and strongly bitter.
  • Distribution: India, South America

History and Traditions
historyFor three centuries quinine, was the only effective remedy known for malaria. It was known to the Jesuits very early in it's history, hence the common name Jesuit's powder. The name of the genus is due to Linnaeus, who named the tree in 1742 after a Countess of Chinchon, the wife of a viceroy of Peru, who, in 1638, was introduced by natives to the medicinal properties of the bark. In the 1860s, the Dutch government began cultivating cinchona trees on the island of Java in an attempt to monopolize the world production of quinine. Even though the trees are now cultivated worldwide, the bark is still sometimes referred to as "Peruvian" bark
Folklore, Myths and Legends
Quick Tips
To ease night time leg cramps, drink a small glass on tonic water with quinine before going to bed

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