Cinchona tree

Cinchona species mostly grow as trees, rarely also as shrubs. They have flattened buds with upright leaves, the flowers are stalked, yellow, pink, purple to red. The fruit is a capsule with winged seeds.

The Cinchona plant genus, also known as cinchona trees, belongs to the Rubiaceae family and comprises around 23 species that were originally distributed in Central America (Costa Rica, Panama) and western South America (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil). The tree grows up to 15 m high. The name Cinchona means "bark of barks" translated from the Spanish quinaquina. The main active ingredient is "quinine", an alkaloid with a bitter taste. Today, some species are cultivated worldwide to extract quinine. The antipyretic effect of the rings has been known since 1827, when the active ingredient quinine was discovered. Quinine was used to treat fever and malaria, but also as a bittering agent in liqueur and tonic water - see Bitter Lemon. The bark also contains quinidine, cinchonine, cinchonidine, catechin tannins, tannin precursors and bitter substances of the triterpene type (quinovosides).

The dried bark ( cinchonae cortex) is used phytotherapeutically.

Cinchona pubescens (red cinchona tree) is together with Chinona calisaya (yellow cinchona tree) and their varieties the parent plant of Cinchona Cortex.

Cinchona pubescens extract (INCI) is an extract from the cinchona tree used in cosmetic preparations.

1. https://arzneipflanzenlexikon.info/chinarindenbaum.php
2. Blaschek W (2015) Wichtl tea drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. A handbook for practice. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft Munich. S 127-129