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.
Bark beetle economic impact. In undisturbed forests, bark beetles serve the purpose of hastening the recycling and decomposition of dead and dying wood and renewing the forest. A few species are aggressive and can develop large populations that invade and kill healthy trees and are therefore known as pests. Bark beetles of the family Scolytidae feed and breed between the bark and the wood of various tree species, including spruces. More than 20 species feed on weakened, dying, or dead spruce, fir, and hemlock. Most restrict breeding area to one part of the tree: twig, branch, stem, or root collar. Some breed