The Cure That Changed the World

Long before artemisinin was discovered as an effective anti-malarial agent (in the 1970s), there was another natural anti-malarial remedy that was widely used. Quinine, made from the bark of a tree holds great importance in medicine and has a fascinating history.

In the 1800s, European settlers in South America discovered that the bark of a native Peruvian tree called cinchona tree was widely used by locals to ward off mosquitos and it served as an effective anti-malarial remedy. The active ingredient, quinine, was soon isolated from the cinchona bark, and it became the mainstay of anti-malaria treatment for hundreds of years all over the world (and continues even today in certain countries).

Cinchona tree

Although the discovery of quinine was a landmark for western medicine, it also had horrendous consequences, especially for the people of Africa. The fear of malaria and other diseases had kept colonial powers out of Africa for centuries, but the effectiveness of quinine against malaria meant it was no longer the "white man's grave," and caused Europeans to swarm into Africa and colonize the entire continent within thirty years. Quinine was such a valuable commodity that it was also the cause of a great power struggle during World War II for control of the world's cinchona supply. The wide-reaching effects of quinine on world dynamics in the last two centuries have earned it the moniker, "the cure that changed the world."

On a lighter note, quinine also gave the world "gin and tonic". The British colonists living in India had to take quinine for malaria but because of its bitter taste, they made a tonic out of it to mask its taste and consumed it with gin, leading to the highly popular drink. Tonic water to this day contains quinine.

Quinine present in tonic water glows under UV light

Quinine experienced a resurgence of sorts last year when covid-19 hit the world. Over the years, quinine has been modified (for improved safety) to chloroquine and the now infamous hydroxychloroquine, which was at the center of a heated controversy during the early stages of the pandemic as a potential but unverified treatment option that was enthusiastically promoted by President Trump. Quinine, however, lacks any controversy when it comes to treating malaria. The natural product whose medicinal history dates back to the 1600s continues to be used today in the form of quinine and safer derivatives like chloroquine in many parts of the world.

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