Poisoning cinchona

Quinine is one of several alkaloids derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. The mechanism by which it exerts its antimalarial activity is not known. It does not bind to DNA at antimalarial dosages. It may poison the parasite s feeding mechanism, and it has been termed a general protoplasmic poison, since many organisms are affected by it. 

Just as concoctions of cinchona, bark of willow, and leaves of the common foxglove plant were used during ancient times without knowing that they contained, respectively, quinine, aspirin, or digoxin, so is the story of CO. The toxicity of CO was recorded by Aristotle (384-322 BC) in the third century BC by the first century BC, charcoal fumes were used for suicide and executions without any knowledge of the exact nature of the killer (Lewin, 1920 Shephard, 1983). Byzantine emperor Julian the Apostate and his successor, Jovian, were poisoned in AD... 

The physiological action of the cinchona alkaloids is that of an antipyretic or febrifugCj lowering the body temperature in case of fevers. Quinine retards the action of oxidase enzymes and acts as a poison to certain organisms, especially that of malaria. Its first use was as a specific for this form of fever. It has a very bitter taste and in common with other substances of like properties it acts on the alimentary canal causing increased secretion of digestive juices. 

If vomiting have not occurred in cases of acute antimonial poisoning it should be provoked by warm water, or the stomach should be evacuated by the pump. Tannin in some form (decoction of oak bark, cinchona, Butgalls, tea) should then be given with a view to rendering any remaining poison insoluble. 

Ancient American people have also developed knowledge about medicines and poisons from native plants, being able to diagnose and treat physical and spiritual Ulnesses in their own way. Infusions of bark of cinchona tree (Cinchona officinalis) cultivated in South American Incas royal households were early used against fevers. This species was known in Europe when Jesuits carried plant samples in their way back. Aymaras used the word coca meaning tree, to name E. coca its leaves were chewed for centuries by different cultures from the Andean plateau as a stimulant to treat altitude-derived symptoms and against appetite, thirst, and fatigue [2]. 

Fascinating plant folklore and ethnopharmacology leads to medicinal potential. Examples are the muscle relaxants based on the arrow poison, curare, from species of Chondrodendron, and the antimalarials derived from species of Cinchona and Artemisia. The methods of detection of pharmacological activity have become increasingly reliable and specific, frequently involving enzymes in bioassays and avoiding the use of laboratory animals. By using bioassay linked fractionation of crude plant juices or extracts, compounds can be specifically... 

Some alkaloids, such as quinine and other Cinchona alkaloids, have been used for centuries as drugs for killing protozoa while having little effect on the mammals ingesting such alkaloids. There have been attempts to extrapolate the poisonous effects of alkaloids to other microorganisms (protists), but it has been difficult to do. It was found that alkaloid-rich plants are affected by parasitic fungi and by pathogenic bacteria as much as alkaloid-free species. Phytophthora will attack, with the same deadly effects, alkaloid-rich Nicotiana species as readily as the less alkaloid-rich... 

The alkaloids are mostly unnecessary for the normal development of the insect, but in some cases the insect accumulates them, and then becomes unpalatable for animals feeding on the insect. Such accumulators are the insect HelopeltiSy which feeds on Cinchona bark and comes to contain amorphous cinchonine-like alkaloids, and Attacus atlas, which also accumulates cinchonine. A good example of insects prospering from poisons acquired from plants was described by Brower et al. (1968). 

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