THE MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC ACTIVITIES OF CINCHONA: A REVIEW

Cinchona belongs to the Rubiaceae family. Due to its antimalarial activity, it is very popular and becoming more and more important for hundreds of years. There are many alkaloids present in the extracts of this tree, including chichonine, quinidine, quinine and cinchonidine, that are main alkaloids, but the quantitative share varies among species to species. Compared with one of them, the combined action of more than two dozen alkaloids is more effective in terms of drug properties. Since the beginning of the 17th century, bark of Cinchona has been used to treat and cure various health problems related to malaria. Cinchona can also be used to treat various other diseases because its alkaloids have antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial activities. This article introduces the medicinal and aromatic activities of cinchona.