Yara Chucchu (Cinchona sp.), Cava-Chucchu or Quina and its alkaloids in the treatment of malaria

Abstract

More than a century has passed since the use of quinine, considered the main alkaloid of cinchona, in the treatment of mala-
ria. Despite the observed drawbacks, a comparative study on the greater curative value of the integral extracts of the precious tree’s bark versus what has been considered until now the plant’s sole active principle has not yet begun. This is despite the fact that the strong claims made about its absolute efficiency for treating all forms of malaria are contradicted by both its recognized failures in many cases and the clear inconveniences it presents for administration in other circumstances.
The observations left by Bonpland in multiple notes from his medical archive regarding the antimalarial value of indigenous plants from not only different genera than *Cinchona* but also different families are valuable data. This is because they come from someone who, during his long stay with Humboldt in the *Cinchona* regions, knew cinchona trees very well. The often-confirmed successes of using certain vegetables as antimalarials by natives against “chucchu,” along with the observation of
careful decortication of some trees found completely stripped of their bark, even on their thinnest branches, and references
from doctors in the Argentine malarial region about the curative value of some vegetable drugs and remedies, which we had
already learned about from data collected during our 1899 excursions from indigenous people and creoles in those regions,
have now led us to study and review the old indigenous antimalarial medication. We are checking our research with current microscopy resources and the still limited means at our disposal, given the mental idiosyncrasy of the people in the north and the notorious deficiencies of their hospitals, which do not yet allow for rigorous verification of a medicine’s action over a long period.