Chemicals and Drugs

Quinine

An alkaloid derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. It is used as an antimalarial drug, and is the active ingredient in extracts of the cinchona that have been used for that purpose since before 1633. Quinine is also a mild antipyretic and analgesic and has been used in common cold preparations for that purpose. It was used commonly and as a bitter and flavoring agent, and is still useful for the treatment of babesiosis. Quinine is also useful in some muscular disorders, especially nocturnal leg cramps and myotonia congenita, because of its direct effects on muscle membrane and sodium channels. The mechanisms of its antimalarial effects are not well understood.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

An alkaloid derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. It is used as an antimalarial drug, and is the active ingredient in extracts of the cinchona that have been used for that purpose since before 1633. Quinine is also a mild antipyretic and analgesic and has been used in common cold preparations for that purpose. It was used commonly and as a bitter and flavoring agent, and is still useful for the treatment of babesiosis. Quinine is also useful in some muscular disorders, especially nocturnal leg cramps and myotonia congenita, because of its direct effects on muscle membrane and sodium channels. The mechanisms of its antimalarial effects are not well understood.

Chemical Identity

Chemical Information

Molecular Formula
C20H24N2O2
Molecular Weight
324.4 g/mol
CAS Registry No.
130-95-0
IUPAC Name
(R)-[(2S,4S,5R)-5-ethenyl-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-2-yl]-(6-methoxyquinolin-4-yl)methanol
InChIKey
LOUPRKONTZGTKE-WZBLMQSHSA-N
SMILES
COC1=CC2=C(C=CN=C2C=C1)[C@H]([C@@H]3C[C@@H]4CCN3C[C@@H]4C=C)O
MeSH Unique ID
D011803
Source
PubChem CID 3034034

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

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Drug Class

Pharmacological Action

MeSH Record

Synonyms

23 entry terms
  • Biquinate
  • Legatrim
  • Myoquin
  • Quinamm
  • Quinbisan
  • Quinbisul
  • Quindan
  • Quinimax
  • Quinine Bisulfate
  • Quinine Hydrochloride
  • Quinine Lafran
  • Quinine Sulfate
  • Quinine Sulphate
  • Quinine-Odan
  • Quinoctal
  • Quinson
  • Quinsul
  • Strema
  • Surquina
  • Bisulfate, Quinine
  • Hydrochloride, Quinine
  • Sulfate, Quinine
  • Sulphate, Quinine

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

27 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings administration & dosage, adverse effects, agonists, analogs & derivatives, analysis, antagonists & inhibitors, biosynthesis, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemical synthesis, chemistry, classification, economics, genetics, history, immunology, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, poisoning, radiation effects, standards, supply & distribution, therapeutic use, toxicity, urine.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

/biosyn permitted if by plant

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. D03w.132w.206.719w
  2. D03w.605.687.762w
  3. D03w.633.100.810.762w

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Quinine. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D011803. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D011803
  2. Quinine. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinine
  3. Quinine. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q189522
  4. Quinine. In: PubChem Compound. CID 3034034. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/3034034