Magnificent molecules

Quinine

By 2010-11-01T09:48:00

Gin and tonic

Source: Shutterstock

Quinine was the first successful anti-malarial, but it is now more familiar to us as the bitter taste in tonic water, but what is the story?

In Peru, the Quechua Indians would use the ground bark of the chinchona tree to treat shivering. In the 17th century Agostino Salumbrino, an apothecary living in Lima, wondered if the bark could be used to treat the shivers and fevers of malaria sufferers. The bark worked, not just stopping the shivers, but the disease itself.

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