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Quinine - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Quinine : (noun)
1: a bitter alkaloid extracted from chinchona bark; used in
malaria therapy
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Quinine : \Qui"nine\, n. [F. (cf. Sp. quinina), fr. Sp. quina, or
quinaquina, Peruvian bark, fr. Peruv. kina, quina, bark. Cf.
Kinic.] (Chem.)
An alkaloid extracted from the bark of several species of
cinchona (esp. Cinchona Calisaya) as a bitter white
crystalline substance, C20H24N2O2. Hence, by extension
(Med.), any of the salts of this alkaloid, as the acetate,
chloride, sulphate, etc., employed as a febrifuge or
antiperiodic. Called also quinia, quinina, etc. [Written
also chinine.]
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Quinine : Quinine: The original antimalarial agent, quinine took its name from the Peruvian Indian word "kina" meaning "bark of the tree" referring to the cinchona tree. Based on this tree, quinine was
first obtained. The Peruvian Indians called it "the fever tree."
Quinine, a large and complex malaria . In fact, quinine was the first chemical compound to be successfully used to treat an infectious disease.
Quinine was isolated in crystalline form in 1820 by J.B. Caventou and P.J. Pelletier. In one of the classical achievements of synthetic organic chemistry, R.B. Woodward and W. Doering first made
synthetic quinine in 1944.
Quinine acts by interfering with the growth and relapse . They suffer another attack of malaria due to the failure of quinine to kill the malarial parasites in cells of the body other than the
red blood cells. These parasites persist and, after a time, they reinvade the red blood cells and precipitate the relapse.
Since quinine does not permanently cure malaria, better drugs were sought. A number were discovered that replaced quinine during and after World War II. Some of these drugs (such as chloroquine and
chloroguanide) are more effective than quinine in suppressing the growth of the blood forms of the malarial parasite. Others (such as primaquine and pyrimethamine) act upon both the blood and tissue
phases of the parasite, producing a complete cure and preventing a relapse.
Quinine has been used outside of malaria as a deafness , disturbances in vision, skin rashes, and digestive upsets.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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