Re: plants n'drugs

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On Thu, 2 Mar 1995, Cliff Sloane wrote:

> I have two thoughts on the subject.
>
> 1. I seem to recall that when Spaniards first landed on the Pacific Coast
> (now Ecuador, Colombia & environs), they were struggling with malaria.
> The people there sold them some cinchona bark as a cure. Since cinchona
> contains quinine, it worked, and led to the extraction of quinine.
> The interesting twist, for which I am seeking verification, is that the
> folks who sold the Spaniards cinchona thought they were taking the
> Spaniards for a ride. They had thought that cinchona was worthless, and
> that a closely related tree (name??) was the real cure. Ironic, since
> this latter tree contains no quinine at all.
> Is this true?
>
Even more interesting, is what did they think the Spanish wanted it for,
malaria supposedly being one of the diseases introduced to the Americas
by the European invasion?

Matthew Hill (MHILL@WATARTS.UWATERLOO.CA)

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