How Is Quinine Produced?

A natural substance with medicinal qualities, quinine comes from the bark of the Cinchona trees that grow along the equator from Colombia to Bolivia. According to legend, the trees were named after the countess of Chinchon, who in 1638 was reportedly cured of malaria after using the bark.

Harvest

• Cinchona tree trunks are beaten until the bark begins to separate from the tree. Almost half of the Cinchona bark harvested goes to the food industry to be used as quinine water, tonic water and as a bitter food additive. The remaining bark is used to produce the prescription drug quinidine.

Decoction

• The process of decoction can be used to extract quinine from the Cinchona bark. The bark is mashed and boiled, and its resulting liquid is used to treat various conditions from malaria to dyspepsia to anemia.

Tincture

• Quinine can also be extracted from Cinchona bark by creating a tincture. The bark is put in a container along with an ingestible alcohol, such as vodka, and allowed to sit for several weeks.

Fun Fact

• If you've ever had a gin and tonic, then you're familiar with the bitter taste of quinine. Although quinine in large doses can be toxic, there's no worry of being poisoned by the quinine in your tonic water. It contains such a small amount of actual quinine that the gin would poison you long before you could consume enough quinine to cause adverse effects.