[Jo Nuvark]

Quinine 'kwi:ni:n is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic, anti-malarial with analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine.

Quinine was previously superseded by chloroquine, but is now again the drug of choice for treatment of falciparum malaria because of the rise of chloroquine resistance. Quinine is available with a prescription in the U.S. Quinine is also used to treat nocturnal leg cramps and arthritis and it has also been used (with limited success) to treat people who had been infected by prions. It was once a popular heroin adulterant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinine

[EnochPowellWasRight]

"Quinine is available with a prescription in the U.S."

It's also available as a soft drink... ;) Tonic water contains quinine.

DDR is the most effective at culling the mosquito populations in 3rd world countries, but the environazis killed it.

[1066AD]

If it wasn't for quinine we wouldn't have gin and tonics :)

[null and void]

Thanks. Good to hear what's old is new again. That provides some hope that we can rotate through antibiotics forever once we have enough different ones for the bacteria to forget their resistance factors. (Granted, malaria isn't bacterial, but the principle should apply).

[samantha]

too bad that Quinine is deadly to some sensitive people, like my Ex Brother in Law who almost died after being given the med for leg cramps, and a Friend that was given the Med even though she had the info all over her files that she is allergic to it. She almost died and was in the Hospital three weeks, and her blood platelets were down to the 100's when normal is 150,000 to 400,000.