Part 109

2. By soaking the tobacco, of which the cigars are to be made, or the cigars themselves, for a short time in a very strong infusion of cascarilla, and then allowing them to dry by a very gentle heat.

3. By simply inserting very small shreds of cascarilla bark between the leaves of the cigar or in small slits made for the purpose.

_Obs._ The above yield a very agreeable odour when smoked; but are said to intoxicate quicker than unprepared cigars of equal strength and quality. They lose much of their fragrance by age.

=Cigars, Stramo''nium.= _Syn._ DATU'RA CIGARS; CIGARRÆ STRAMO''NII, L. From the leaves of _Datura stramonium_, or preferably those of the eastern species, _Datura tatula_. See ASTHMA, DATURA.

=CINCHONA BARKS.= _Syn._ CINCHONÆ CORTEX; PERUVIAN BARK; JESUIT'S BARK. The native names are _quinquino_ and _quina_, _quina_. Of the nearly forty different known species of cinchona trees, the barks of about a third are employed, some either directly in medicine, but by far the larger number as sources of quinine and the other cinchona alkaloids. The original habitat of the genus _Cinchona_ is the Andes, where it is found at a height of between 3000 and 12,000 feet above the sea, growing mostly in patches, distributed amongst the palms, plantains, and other tropical trees that form the vast forests, for the most part clothing the eastern slopes of the Cordilleras, and extending from 10° north to about 19° south latitude. In this district there is always an abundance of moisture and a mean temperature of about 62°. In 1853 the Dutch government introduced the cinchona into Java, and in 1861 the East Indian government, following their example, introduced it into British India, where it is now acclimatised, large plantations of it growing on the Neilgherries and in the valleys of the Himalayas. The cinchona is now also successfully cultivated in Ceylon and Jamaica.

The method followed in the collection of the bark by the Peruvians is a very wasteful and destructive one, and consists either in stripping the bark from the trees when they have attained a sufficient age, or in felling the tree a little above the roots. If the latter method be adopted, the roots give out a growth of suckers, which yield a good bark. The bark is never removed during the rainy season.

Previous to being stripped off, the bark is sometimes cleaned with a brush, and then peeled off in pieces varying from 15 to 18 inches long, and from 4 or 5 in width. The thinnest pieces, which are derived from the branches or the trunks of small trees, are dried in the sun, and thus acquire the well-known quill-like form. The larger trunks yield the flat specimens, which are submitted to a kind of pressure as they are being dried. The inferior specimens being rejected, the dried barks (mostly of the same kind) are sewed in canvas, and thus conveyed to the nearest depôt, from whence, previous to being shipped, they are enclosed in another envelope of fresh hide, the package being then known under the name of a _seron_.

_Structure of Cinchona Barks._ A few general observations on the structure of the bark of cinchona will be appropriate here. The epidermis is only found on the youngest bark, before it has attained sufficient age for medicinal use; it is then replaced by the corky layer. In most species this cracks, and is easily separable, but in some it is firmly attached to the internal layers. These are composed of the middle layer of the bark or mesophlæum, formed of parenchyma, and the innermost layer endophlæum, or liber. The middle layer disappears in some barks, which are thus wholly composed of liber. This is a means of distinguishing them. The liber is traversed by medullary rays, which project into the mesophlæum. It is, therefore, composed of woody fibres (prosenchyma) and soft parenchyma.

The arrangement of the woody fibres, their colour, size, and shape, give a special character to the cinchona barks.

As compared with other barks, the fibres of the liber are shorter and more loosely arranged, being for the most part separate or united into very short bundles. The fibres, therefore, are easily isolated; they are spindle-shaped, sub-quadrangular, rarely exceeding 1-10th of an inch in length, usually straight, and are very brittle, the cavity of the cell of which each is composed being reduced by secondary deposits to a fine canaliculus. This short and loose fibrous structure is not found in other barks.

In some cinchona bark a system of lactiferous vessels is found between the liber and mesophlæum.[247]

[Footnote 247: Royle.]

The parenchyma of the barks abounds in starch and oxalate of lime, or else contains a soft brown deposit.

The 'British Pharmacop[oe]ia' divides the cinchona barks into the three classes of--

1. YELLOW CINCHONA BARK. _Syn._ CINCHONÆ FLAVÆ CORTEX. The _Cinchona Calisaya_ of Weddell.

2. PALE CINCHONA BARK. _Syn._ CINCHONÆ PALLIDÆ CORTEX. The bark of _Cinchona officinalis_; var. _Condaminea_ of Hooker. This bark is also known under the name of _Crown-bark_, from its having formerly been used by the royal family of Spain.

3. RED CINCHONA BARK. _Syn._ CINCHONÆ RUBRÆ CORTEX. The _Cinchona succirubra_ of Pavon.

The therapeutic properties of the cinchona barks are due to the following alkaloids:--

Quinia, or quinine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O_{2}.

Quinidia, or quinidine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O_{2}.

Cinchonia, or cinchonine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O.

Cinchonidia, or cinchonidine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O.

Quinamina, or quinamine, having the composition C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O_{2}.

Besides the above, an alkaloid, which has been named _Paracina_, has been obtained from the bark of the _Cinchona succirubra_; whilst in those barks which contain only small portions of the more active constituents above named there have been found two alkaloids, named respectively _Aricia_ and _Cusconia_, which have lately been accurately investigated by Hesse, who has determined their chemical constitution (Liebig's 'Annalen und Berichte der Chemische Gesselschaft in Berlin').

_The following Prospectus of the principal Species of Cinchona is from_ FLÜCKIGER and HANBURY'S '_Pharmacographia_,'

+---------------------+-------------+--------------------+------------------------------------- Species (excluding Sub-species and | | Native | Where | Varieties) according to Weddell. | Where figured. | Country. | cultivated. | Product - Cinchona Barks. --------------------------------------+---------------------+-------------+--------------------+------------------------------------- I. STIRPS CINCHONÆ OFFICINALIS-- | | | | 1. Cinchona officinalis, Hook. |'Bot. Mag.,' 5364 |Ecuador Loxe,|India, Ceylon, Java |Loxa, or Crown Bark, Pale Bark. 2. " macrocalyx, Pav. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru | -- |Ashy Crown Bark. The sub-species | | | | _C. Palton affords_ an | | | | important sort called _Palton Bark_, | | | | much used in the manufacture of | | | | quinine. 3. " lucumæfolia, Pav. | " |Ecuador, Peru| -- |Carthagena Bark, confounded with | | | | Palton Bark, but is not so good. 4. " lanciolata, R. and P. | " |Peru | -- } |Columbian Bark. Imported in immense | | | } | quantities for manufacture of 5. " lancifolia, Mutis. |Karst., tab. 11, 12 |New Granada |India } | quinine. The soft Columbian Bark | | | } | is produced by Howard's var. | | | } | _oblonga_. 6. " amygdalifolia, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 6 |Peru, Bolivia| -- |A poor bark, not now imported. II. STIRPS CINCHONÆ RUGOSÆ-- | | | | 7. Cinchona Pityrensis, Wedd. |Karst., tab. 22 (G). |New Grenada, |India |Pitayo Bark. Very valuable; used by | Triane | Popayan | | makers of quinine. It is the chief | | | | source of quinidine. 8. " rugosa, Pav. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru | -- |Bark unknown, probably valueless. 9. " Mutisii, Lamb. | " |Ecuador | -- |Bark, not in commerce, contains only | | | | aricine. 10. " hirsuta, R. and P. |Wedd., tab. 21 |Peru | -- | 11. " Carabayensis, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 19 |Peru, Bolivia| -- |Bark, not collected. 12. " panudiana, How. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru |India, Java |A poor bark, yet of handsome | | | | appearance; propagation of tree | | | | discontinued. 13. " asperfolia, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 20 |Bolivia | -- |Bark not collected. 14. " umbelluliferæ, Pav. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru | -- |Bark not known as a distinct sort. 15. " glandulifera, R. and P. | " |Peru | -- | " " 16. " Humboldtiana, Lamb. | " |Peru | -- |False Loxa Bark, Jaen Bark. A very | | | | bad bark. III. STIRPS CINCHONÆ MICRANTHÆ-- | | | | 17. Cinchona Australis, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 8 |South Bolivia| -- |An inferior bark, mixed with | | | | Calisaya. 18. " scrobiculata, H. and B. | " |Peru | -- |Bark formerly known as _Red Cusco | | | | Bark_ or _Santa Anna Bark_. 19. " Peruviana, How. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru |India } | 20. " nitida, R. and P. | " |Peru |India } |Grey Bark, Huanuco, or Lima Bark. 21. " micrantha, R. and P. | " |Peru |India } | Chiefly consumed on the Continent. IV. STIRPS CINCHONÆ CALISAYÆ-- | | | | 22. Cinchona Calisaya, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 9 |Peru, Bolivia|India, Ceylon, Java,|Calisaya Bark, Bolivian Bark, Yellow | | | Jamaica, Mexico | Bark. The tree exists under many | | | | varieties; bark also very variable. 23. " elliptica, Wedd. | " |Peru, | -- |Carabaya Bark. Bark scarcely now | | Carabaya | | imported. _C. cuneura_, Miq. | | | | (flower and fruit unknown), may | | | | perhaps be this species. V. STIRPS CINCHONÆ OVATÆ-- | | | | 24. Cinchona purpurea, R. and P. |Howard, 'N. Q.' |Peru, | |Huamalies Bark, not now imported. | | Huamalies | | 25. " rufinervis, Wedd. | " |Peru, Bolivia| -- |Bark a kind of light Calisaya. 26. " succirubra, Pav. | -- |Ecuador |India, Ceylon, Java,|Red Bark; largely cultivated in | | | Jamaica | British India. 27. " ovata, R. and P. | " |Peru, Bolivia|India (?), Java (?).|Inferior brown and grey barks. 28. " cordifolia, Mutis. |Karst., tab. 8 |New Granada, | -- |Columbian Bark (in part). Tree exists | | Peru | | under many varieties; bark of some | | | | used in manufacture of quinine. 29. " Tucujensis, Karst. |Karst., tab. 9 |Venezuela | -- |Maracaibo Bark. 30. " pubescens, Vahl. |Wedd., tab. 16 |Ecuador, | -- |Areca Bark (Cusco Bark from var. | |Peru, Bolivia| | _Pelletieriana_). Some of the | | | | varieties contain aricine. _C. | | | | caloptera_, Miq., is probably a | | | | variety of the species. 31. " purpurascens, Wedd. |Wedd., tab. 18 |Bolivia | -- |Bark unknown in commerce. --------------------------------------+---------------------+-------------+--------------------+-------------------------------------

The cinchona barks vary greatly in the amount of alkaloids they contain and in their proportion to each other, these being dependent upon the species or varieties, and many other circumstances. Of the alkaloids, quinia and cinchonia were till lately the most abundant, but since the introduction of cinchona cultivation into India, cinchonidia has been found in very large quantity. Royle says:--"Good Calisaya bark usually contains from 5 to 6 per cent. of quinia," but actually South American calisaya containing such an amount of quinia is rare in the market. Some barks, however, derived from cinchonas cultivated in India, such as _C. Calisaya_, var. _Ledgeriana_, and some varieties of _C. officinalis_, yield even a still higher per-centage of quinine.

The South American crown, or loxa bark, is very variable, and contains chiefly cinchonia.

Red bark also varies considerably, yielding from 3 to 10 per cent. of alkaloids, of which quinia forms only a small fraction, whilst generally cinchonidia is predominant. The development of the alkaloids is greatly influenced by cultivation, but particularly by the "renewing process," which, applied to the _C. succirubra_, trebles the amount of quinine in the bark.

In addition to the alkaloids already mentioned, the cinchona barks contain the following acid principles:--KINIC ACID, CINCHO-TANNIC ACID, and QUINOVIC or CHINOVIC ACID. The quinovic acid is accompanied by an amorphous bitter substance, named CHINOVIN or QUINOVIA, which is present in much greater proportion than the acid, of which generally there are only traces. A description of these bodies will be found by referring to them under their respective names. CINCHONA-RED is another amorphous substance which is the body to which the red hue of the cinchona barks is due. It is produced when cincho-tannic acid is boiled with dilute sulphuric acid, sugar being formed at the same time.

When fused with potash, proto-catechinic acid is formed. Cinchona red dissolves sparingly in alcohol, freely in alkaline solutions, but neither in water nor ether. Thick red bark contains it to the amount of more than 10 per cent.

Cinchona red is the product of the oxidation of cincho-tannic acid, and is contained largely in South American red bark, because this is the product of old trees; but sparingly in Indian red bark, because this is always collected from trees not more than fourteen years old.

_Medicinal Properties of the Cinchona Barks._ The therapeutic effects of the cinchona barks are doubtless due to the alkaloids they contain; but spite of their variability of composition in this respect, which has been shown to be very great, they are very extensively employed in medical practice in the forms of powder, decoction, tincture, and extract.

Dr de Vrij, the eminent quinologist, is of opinion that the therapeutic effects of bark are chiefly due in part to the alkaloids, and in part to the cincho-tannic acid they contain; and as red Indian bark is rich in both these constituents, he considers it the best suited for medical practice. See QUINETUM.

Garrod says:--"Given in small doses, bark causes an increase of appetite, especially in weak patients, and at the same time improves the condition of the muscular system; hence the improvement of the blood and general health. It may, therefore, be well designated a tonic.

Its power in bracing up the system is also seen in the check given to the colliquative sweating occurring in extreme debility. The pulse is not quickened by the use even of large doses of quinine, although it is frequently made stronger, nor does bark itself, in the majority of cases, increase the heart's action.

Bark also produces a peculiar influence upon the nervous system, which is exhibited in the extraordinary power it possesses of arresting the progress of certain diseases characterised by a periodical recurrence of their symptoms, as ague, the different forms of neuralgia, and certain inflammatory affections; how this effect is produced is at present unknown. Bark acts likewise as an astringent, and this property, combined with the tonic and antiperiodic powers, is often of much therapeutic value."

For the method of estimating the alkaloids in cinchona bark, see QUINOMETRY, QUININE, QUINIDINE, QUINOIDINE, QUINICONE, QUINAMINE, CINCHONINE; also the different pharmaceutical preparations of CINCHONA BARK.

=CINCHONIDINE.= _Syn._ CINCHONIDIA. C_{20}H_{24}N_{20}. This cinchona alkaloid is isomeric with cinchonine. It occurs in large, shining striated, rhombic prisms, which are anhydrous. It dissolves in ·76 parts of ether and 20 of spirit of wine. The solutions are fluorescent, but do not answer to the chlorine and ammonia tests.

"The great powers and activity of this alkaloid have only of late been appreciated. As a protoplasm-poison, and probably in every other physiological action, it comes next to quinine and quinidine, and decidedly above cinchonine."[248]

[Footnote 248: Dr C. D. Phillips.]

If it is chemically pure, cinchonidine belongs to the non-fluorescent alkaloids.

=CINCHONINE.= _Syn._ CINCHONIA. C_{20}H_{24}N_{2}O. This alkaloid abounds most in the paler varieties of the cinchona barks. It occurs in clear, colourless, four-sided prisms, which are soluble in 30 parts of water, and in about 400 parts of ether and 120 of spirits of wine. With acids it forms soluble salts, which do not fluoresce in solution, and are turned lightish brown-yellow by the chlorine and ammonia tests. Of its salts, the hydriodate is readily soluble in water, and still more so in alcohol, whether dilute or strong. Cinchonine may be prepared from its sulphate or disulphate in the same way as quinine.

=Cinchonine, Sulphate of.= _Syn._ CINCHONIÆ SULPHAS. (Ph. U. S.) Take of the mother-water remaining after the crystallisation of sulphate of quinia in the process for preparing that salt a convenient quantity, solution of soda, alcohol, diluted sulphuric acid, animal charcoal in fine powder, each a sufficient quantity. To the mother-water add gradually with constant stirring solution of soda, until the liquid becomes alkaline. Collect on a filter the precipitate formed, wash it with water, and dry it. Then wash it with successive small portions of alcohol to remove other alkaloids which may be present, mix the residue with 8 times its weight of water, and having heated the mixture, add gradually diluted sulphuric acid until it is neutralised and becomes clear. Then boil the liquid with animal charcoal, filter it while hot, and set it aside to crystallise. Lastly, drain the crystals and dry them on bibulous paper. By evaporating the mother-liquid more crystals may be obtained.

=CINCHO-TANNIC ACID.= This acid is precipitated from a decoction of bark by acetate of lead, after the decoction has been freed from cinchona red by means of magnesia.

If the cincho-tannate of lead thus formed be decomposed by sulphuretted hydrogen, and the solution carefully evaporated in vacuo, the acid may be obtained as an amorphous, hygroscopic substance, readily soluble in water. A ferric salt added to a solution of this acid imparts a greenish colour to it.

Cincho-tannic acid is very soluble in water, but not in acids. Therefore a concentrated watery infusion (1 to 4) of Indian bark gives a precipitate upon the addition of strong hydrochloric acid. By this means a rough estimation may be formed of the amount of cincho-tannic acid in a sample of bark.

=CINCHOVATINE.= The substance known under this name does not exist as an alkaloid, _sui generis_. It is nothing more than quinidine, or cinchonidine, or a mixture of both.

=CINNABAR.= _Syn._ NATIVE VERMILLION. This compound, which is one of the most abundant of the ores of mercury, is a product of considerable importance in the arts, and some portions of it are sometimes sufficiently pure in colour to be used after mere levigation. Generally, however, the factitious kind is employed. See VERMILION.

=CINNAMEIN.= C_{16}H_{14}O_{2}. _Syn._ OIL OF BALSAM OF PERU. A volatile oil existing in balsam of Peru.

=CINNAMIC ACID.= HC_{9}H_{7}O_{2}. A colourless, transparent, crystalline substance, obtained from oil of cinnamon, liquid storax, balsam of Peru, and balsam of tolu. It is freely dissolved by alcohol, but nearly insoluble in water. At 248° Fahr. it fuses, and at 560° Fahr. it sublimes unchanged. Distilled with dichromate of potassium and sulphuric acid it is converted into benzoic acid. Its salts are called cinnamates.

=CINNAMON.= _Syn._ CINNAMON BARK; CINNAMOMI CORTEX (B. P.), L. The inner bark of shoots from the truncated stock of the _Cinnamomum Zeylanicum_, imported from Ceylon, and distinguished in commerce as Ceylon cinnamon. The best is obtained from branches about three years old.

Used in _medicine_ as a carminative and astringent, chiefly as an adjuvant to other medicines, _e.g._ with chalk, in diarrh[oe]a.--_Dose_, 10 to 20 grains.