Cinchona calisaya

Cinchona calisaya
Branchlets with flowers and fruits
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Cinchona
Species:
C. calisaya
Binomial name
Cinchona calisaya
Wedd.
Distribution range
Synonyms

C. ledgeriana[1]

Cinchona calisaya is a species of shrub or tree in the family Rubiaceae.[2] It is native to the forests of the eastern slopes of the Andes, where they grow from 200–3,300 metres (660–10,830 ft) in elevation in Peru and Bolivia.[2] The species is known for a high quinine content, a key antimalarial alkaloid. From the 1860s, it was grown in plantations (under the synonym C. ledgeriana Wedd.) in the Dutch East Indies to supply the global quinine trade.[3]

Toxicity

Cinchona bark and its quinine alkaloids can cause cardiac sodium and potassium channel blockade, CNS and renal toxicity. Cinchonism trio: GI upset, headaches, and tinnitus. Ventricular arrhythmias, hypoglycemia, renal failure, respiratory failure, jaundice and death.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Cinchona ledgeriana". gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  2. ^ a b Andersson, Lennart (1997). A Revision of the Genus Cinchona (Rubiaceae-Cinchoneae). New York Botanical Garden. pp. 51–54. ISBN 9780893274160.
  3. ^ Roersch van der Hoogte, Arjo; Pieters, Toine (2014-09-01). "Science in the service of colonial agro-industrialism: The case of cinchona cultivation in the Dutch and British East Indies, 1852–1900". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. 47: 12–22. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2014.05.019. ISSN 1369-8486.
  4. ^ Feng, Chris; Fay, Kathryn E.; Burns, Michele M. (2023-06-01). "Toxicities of herbal abortifacients". The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 68: 42–46. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2023.03.005. ISSN 0735-6757.

Further reading

  • Maehara, Shoji; Simanjuntak, Partomuan; Maetani, Yoshihide (April 2013). "Ability of endophytic filamentous fungi associated with Cinchona ledgeriana to produce Cinchona alkaloids". Journal of Natural Medicines. 67 (2): 421–423. doi:10.1007/s11418-012-0701-8. PMID 22886817. S2CID 17989846.