Cinchona Cinchona Cinchona is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. They are native to the tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly naturalized in Central America, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Sulawesi, Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, and São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of tropical Africa. Several species were sought after for their medicinal value and cultivated in India and Java where they also formed hybrids. The barks of several species yield quinine and other alkaloids that were the only effective treatments against
Cinchona a strong decoction of the cinchona bark served with wine. Wine was used because some alkaloids of the cinchona bark are not soluble in water, but are soluble in the ethanol in wine. In 1681 "Água de Inglaterra" was introduced into Portugal from England by Dr. Fernando Mendes who, similarly, “received a handsome gift from (King Pedro) on condition that he should reveal to him the secret of its composition and withhold it from the public”. In 1738, "Sur l'arbre du quinquina", a paper written by Charles Marie de La Condamine, lead member of the expedition, along with Pierre Godin