"I think you have malaria," said the doctor. My severe stomach ache and headache said I would not argue with him. He quickly gave me a liquid quinine injection and instructions on how much quinine I should take in the next few days. Fortunately, the treatment worked and it did not take long for me to return to normal.
This experience and the fact that I live in a large quinine-producing region increased my interest in this subject. Millions of people living in tropical countries where malaria is common take quinine battery tablets every day. But what is quinine? Where does the subject come from? And what is this for? He was determined to find out.
Access to the source
Quinine is a substance extracted from the bark of cinchona. They grew on the eastern slopes of the Andes when the Spaniards arrived in South America in the 16th century. Explorers discovered that the Indians used the bark of the tree for medicinal purposes. Soon these Europeans were chewing cinchona bark. Was it a delicious gift? Absolutely not! The crust had a bitter and unpleasant taste. But chewing was an effective antipyretic.
Research soon began to find other ways to extract the drug from the bark and make it easier to ingest. A few years after Europe's first discovery, it was discovered that when cinchona bark was soaked in wine for a while, the drug was absorbed into the wine. This was dropped from the shell and consumed. Obviously, this was a much easier way to take the medicine, as the wine neutralized or masked the bitter taste. Due to the difficulty of extraction and the fact that the entire bark had to be imported from South America, quinine was only available to the rich and privileged.
In the mid-19th century, cinchona began to disappear in South America, but it was planted in Java and Indonesia was the main supplier of quinine for many years. Other tropical countries have also produced quinine to fight malaria. In 1938, Cinchona was introduced to the Kivu region of the Republic of Zaire. In recent years, this region has become a major supplier of quinine.
Visit to a cinchona plantation
In Zaire, we are really in a good position to learn more about quinine. There are many large, well-defined cinchona plantations in the green landscape of Lake Kivu in eastern Zaire. Visit one of these structures.
Our guide, the plantation manager, explains that it is best to start our tour with the start of the cinchona facility. So our first stop is kindergarten. To get there we walk through forests and cinchona plantations to the bottom of a valley. It is a great place for a nursery. The soil is very rich and is watered by the mountains. There is a stream for a constant supply of water. The area is also warm and well protected.
In the middle is a fence with grass walls. Inside, there are rows upon rows of long, low sheds of grass. All hangars are open on one side. But the discharge is blocked forward so that the right amount of light penetrates. If we look at one of these sheds, we see well-kept flower beds covered with thousands of very fragile plants. When the soil is ready, seeds are simply spread where they will germinate. Each bed is about one meter wide and several meters long sauce with only 2 grams of seeds, or about 4000 to 5,000 grains. We are surprised when the guide explains that a kilo can cost up to $ 700. But our surprise subsides a bit when we hear that a kilo can contain up to a million seeds.
The new plants are watered with a fine mist so as not to damage the sensitive plants. When they reach a height of 10 centimeters, they are transplanted for the first time, but are still protected from the sun and heavy rain. Only when the plants are one and a half years old do they finally come to the field.
When we left the nursery, we climbed the hills to the plantation. One wonders why all the plantations we have seen are in the hills and sometimes very steep. Our guide informs us that while Cinchona likes a lot of water, he does not like water soaked soil. The climate here in Kivu provides rain, about 5 centimeters per year, and the hill provides drainage. The plantation we visited reached an altitude of approximately 2,600 meters above sea level.
Young plants are placed in precisely defined rows at a distance of one meter from each other. Whether you look straight ahead, to the side, or diagonally across the field, you will see that the plants are perfectly arranged.
It is the skin that is harvested, not the fruit of any kind, the bark is harvested when the tree is three or four years old. At this point, the goal is to thin out the plants and preserve the quinine. The harvest lasts until about the twelfth year, and branches and trees are felled every year. When a tree is felled, it does not mean that its replacement must begin with a plant. The remaining stump grows quickly and three or four shoots can mature. Therefore, the plant continues to produce.
As you descend on one of the plantation trails, the joyful song of the birds gradually gives way to a ringing bell. Then we came to its origin. By the side of the road, on our knees, we see a long line of women and girls from the surrounding villages. Everyone is busy removing bark and branches. Each has a stone in the front and a staff about 46 centimeters long. The trees were brought to the women by men and cut to the appropriate lengths. The woman puts the tree or branch on a rock and taps the stick until the bark is exposed. Then peel everything and carefully stack the crust on a large sheet. At the end of the day, it is weighed and counted. After that, you will be paid on this basis.
The bark is then spread over large areas of concrete to dry, where small children place unnecessary sticks and leaves that are just in the way. When the bark is dry, it is placed in large bags and sent to the enrichment facility.
Quinine extraction
Then we arranged a visit to the local processing plant to see the actual extraction of quinine from the bark. Since this is primarily a chemical process, I will not attempt to go into all of the details. We first see a truck full of empty, heavy suitcases. Shipments from different plantations are kept separate until sample analysis can be performed. The quinine content can be between 5 and 10 percent.
As soon as the quinine content is determined, the bowl is passed through a mill and finely ground like flour. Then the shell goes through a chemical process. It mixes with various chemicals like sodium carbonate, sulfuric acid and caustic soda during its various stages. Eventually, quinine begins to manifest as a paste, which is then centrifuged in a dryer, much like modern laundry detergent.
Different uses of quinine
In this basic form, much of the quinine is exported to different parts of the world. There, it is further processed depending on the country's special needs or the pharmaceutical company. In just one year, the chemical plant we visit will process up to 2,500 tonnes of bark and produce between 120 and 150 tonnes of quinine. This factory processes all the quinine required in Zaire and exports large quantities.
Fighting malaria and certain other diseases is not the only use of quinine. Because quinine is sensitive to light, it is also used to make photographic film. Beer, mainly Pilsner, can be made with quinine. In addition, some people use tonic water as a blender in alcoholic beverages to get quinine without having to take bitter pills. Several plastics also contain quinine.
Quinine in its purest form is used less and less today. On the other hand, the use of its derivatives is increasing. A person taking basic quinine may find that their eyes, ears and stomach are affected. This is not the case for quinine derivatives.
But with regard to quinine and a similar substance, the World Book Encyclopedia states: “Doctors still use quinidine to treat and correct certain irregular heartbeats. Quinidine has the same chemical formula as quinine, the only difference being the arrangement of the atoms in the molecule. Doctors believe that quinine and quinidine can cause abnormalities in unborn babies. For this reason, pregnant women should not take these medications without first consulting a doctor.
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