Cinchona genus is the source of a variety of alkaloids, the most familiar of which is quinine, an antipyretic (antifever) agent especially useful in treating malaria. Cinchona alkaloids include: They find use in organic chemistry as organocatalysts in asymmetric synthesis. Alongside the alkaloids, many cinchona barks contain cinchotannic acid, a particular tannin, which by oxidation rapidly yields a dark-coloured phlobaphene called red cinchonic, cinchono-fulvic acid or cinchona red. In 1934, efforts to make malaria drugs cheap and effective for use across countries led to the development of a standard called "totaquina" proposed by the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations.
Therapeutice Specialis ad Febres Periodicas Perniciosas who first systematically studied the effect of cinchona in the treatment of malaria, wrote a book which he titled "Therapeutice Specialis ad Febres Periodicas Perniciosas". One highlight of the "Therapeutice Specialis" is the drawing "tree of fevers", where different fevers, such as branches of the tree, are divided into categories: on the left, those that respond to cinchona, are shown as branches covered with bark, while on the right are those for which cinchona is ineffective, and are depicted as denuded leafless branches. Torti clearly identified cinchona as a specific therapy for intermittent fevers, as opposed to continued fevers, which