Cinchonidine

/sɪŋkəˈnɪdaɪn/ noun

Definition

A major alkaloid compound found in cinchona bark, similar to quinine and cinchonine, with antimalarial and medicinal properties.

Etymology

From cinchona + -idine (an alkaloid suffix variant), following the nomenclature of quinine-related compounds. First isolated and named in 19th-century alkaloid chemistry when multiple active compounds were discovered in cinchona bark.

Kelly Says

Cinchona bark contains four main alkaloids—quinine, cinchonine, cinchonidine, and quinidine—and they're so similar they're basically mirror images (stereoisomers) of each other, like how your hands are mirrors of each other but not identical.

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