Spanish conquerors learned of quinine’s medicinal uses in Peru...

  1. 3,493 Posts.
    lightbulb Created with Sketch. 80
    Spanish conquerors learned of quinine’s medicinal uses in Peru at the beginning of the 17th Century, and use of the powdered ” Peruvian bark” was first recorded in religious writings by the Jesuits in 1633.

    These Jesuit fathers were the primary exporters and importers of quinine early on, and the bark aptly became known as ” Jesuit bark.”Origins of Quinine or Cinchona (Jesuit) Bark According to the CDC, the cinchona tree was named for the wife of the Spanish viceroy to Peru, the Countess Anna del Chinchón. In a popular story the Countess fell ill with malaria in 1638, but the use of quinine proved to effectively ward off the disease. Thus, the bark was recognized for treatment of “the fever” in medical literature as early as 1643, although it did not gain wide acceptance in the medical community until Charles II was cured at the end of the 17th Century.

    The European quest for the bark ensued soon after that. But information about the cinchona tree and its medicinal bark was slow to reach Europe, according to one resource. It would not be until much later, 1820, that the alkaloid was separated from the powdered bark and named “quinine” by two French doctors.

    Q. So! Why do Jesuits bark.

    A. 'Coz their dogtrine stops the from meowing.

    Meow....Marum Katze.
 
arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch. arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch.