Anesthesia quinine

Quinine and its derivatives, when brought in contact with sensory nerves, produce local anesthesia. This is used clinically in the form of the more soluble and less irritant double salts, especially quinine urea hydrochloride. The anesthesia is more lasting than with other local anesthetics it may persist for several days. This is indeed due to necrosis of the axis cylinders and sheaths, with subsequent regeneration. However, the concentrations above 0.25% sometimes produce considerable irritation, edema, and fibrous indurations and above 1% there may be sloughing. Its employment has therefore greatly diminished, although some clinicians consider these fears as exaggerated. 

SAFETY PROFILE Human poison by ingestion. Human systemic effects by ingestion acuity changes, blood agranulocytosis, fibrous hepatitis, flaccid paralysis without anesthesia, motor activity changes, mydriasis (pupillary dilation), nausea or vomiting, tinnitus, visual field changes. Experimental reproductive effects. Mutation data reported. When heated to decomposition it emits very toxic fumes of SOx and NOx. See also QUININE. 

Anesthetic effects have been observed with some of the cinchona alkaloids. Morgenroth and Ginsberg (34) applied some of these products to the cornea of rabbits for 2-8 min. A normal anesthesia was considered as a 30-90-min. suppression. Normal anesthesia was obtained by a 3% solution of quinine hydrochloride and by a 1-1.25% solution of hydroquinine and ethylhydrocupreine hydrochloride. 

Salm (42) made a thorough investigation of the effect of quinine on nerves in an attempt to discover whether or not the anesthesia of quinine and its salts was due to nerve damage. By observing the effect of quinine when injected into the sciatic nerve of a rabbit, Salm concluded that both quinine... 

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