IUBio

quinine

brett brett at BORCIM.WUSTL.EDU
Wed Jun 5 10:07:09 EST 1996


>         Quinine is unrelated to the quinolones although it is related to other
> antimalarial quinolines (such as chloroquine and mefloquine).  The
> mechanism of action of quinine is still unknown, although it probably
> acts in the malarial lysosome.  
>         Its antimalarial activities have been known since the 17th century. 
>  Quinine, when given at doses effective against malaria, has lots of
> side effects.  However, there is only a tiny amount of quinine in tonic
> water.  (Although it is rumored that British settlers in India, needing
> to sweeten their daily prophylactic tonic, added gin as a sweetener and 
>thus introduced the gin and tonic.) 
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Steve Meshnick, M.D., Ph.D.
>Professor of Epidemiology
>University of Michigan School of Public Health
>Ann Arbor MI 48109

Check out recent work by Dan Goldberg's lab here at WashU. I think the action
of quinines has to do with inhibtion of an enzyme involved with heme metabolism.
I know there was a Science paper in the past year that nicely demonstrated
inhibition of HRP II and loss of hemozoin formation.



Brett Lindenbach
    
Program in Immunology                              
Washington University - St Louis                  
brett at borcim.wustl.edu                             

"I own my own pet virus. I get to pet and name her." - Cobain




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