No injectable preparation of quinine is licensed in the US; quinidine is used instead. Beverages
Quinine is a flavor component of tonic water and bitter lemon drink mixers. On the soda gun behind many bars, tonic water is designated by the letter "Q" representing quinine.Tonic water was initially marketed as a means of delivering quinine to consumers in order to offer anti-malarial protection. According to tradition, because of the bitter taste of anti-malarial quinine tonic, British colonials in India mixed it with gin to make it more palatable, thus creating the gin and tonic cocktail, which is still popular today. While it is possible to drink enough tonic water to temporarily achieve quinine levels that offer anti-malarial protection, this is not a sustainable long-term means of protection.In France, quinine is an ingredient of an apéritif known as quinquina, or "Cap Corse," and the wine-based apéritif Dubonnet. In Spain, quinine (also known as "Peruvian bark" for its origin from the native cinchona tree) is sometimes blended into sweet Malaga wine, which is then called "Malaga Quina". In Italy, the traditional flavoured wine Barolo Chinato is infused with quinine and local herbs, and is served as a digestif. In Scotland, the company A.G. Barr uses quinine as an ingredient in the carbonated and caffeinated beverage Irn-Bru. In Uruguay and Argentina, quinine is an ingredient of a PepsiCo tonic water named Paso de los Toros. In Denmark, it is used as an ingredient in the carbonated sports drink Faxe Kondi made by Royal Unibrew.
It can also cause serious hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylactic shock, urticaria, serious skin rashes, including Stevens–Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, angioedema, facial edema, bronchospasm, granulomatous hepatitis, and itchiness.The most common adverse effects involve a group of symptoms called cinchonism, which can include headache, vasodilation and sweating, nausea, tinnitus, hearing impairment, vertigo or dizziness, blurred vision, and disturbance in color perception. More severe cinchonism includes vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, deafness, blindness, and disturbances in heart rhythms. Cinchonism is much less common when quinine is given by mouth, but oral quinine is not well tolerated (quinine is exceedingly bitter and many people will vomit after ingesting quinine tablets). Other drugs, such as Fansidar (sulfadoxine with pyrimethamine) or Malarone (proguanil with atovaquone), are often used when oral therapy is required. Quinine ethyl carbonate is tasteless and odourless, but is available commercially only in Japan. Blood glucose, electrolyte and cardiac monitoring are not necessary when quinine is given by mouth. Quinine has diverse unwanted interactions with numerous prescription drugs, such as potentiating the anticoagulant effects of warfarin. Mechanism of action
Quinine is used for its toxicity to the malarial pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum, by interfering with its ability to dissolve and metabolize hemoglobin. As with other quinoline antimalarial drugs, the precise mechanism of action of quinine has not been fully resolved, although in vitro studies indicate it inhibits nucleic acid and protein synthesis, and inhibits glycolysis in P. falciparum. The most widely accepted hypothesis of its action is based on the well-studied and closely related quinoline drug, chloroquine.