Herb comparison
Cinchona (Rubiaceae) vs Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua)
Both plants are listed as traditional remedies for 1 of the same condition, which is why they are easy to confuse. Their descriptions and full safety notes are below, free.
Cinchona (Rubiaceae) is restricted
Preparation amounts are not shown for this herb. It is toxic, restricted, or otherwise unsafe to self-dose - the margin between a traditional dose and a harmful one is too small to publish as reference material. If you are considering it, that conversation belongs with a doctor or a qualified practitioner, not a website.
- About
- Cinchona is an evergreen tree, growing to about 80 ft (25 m). It has reddish bark and large leaves that can reach 20 in (50 cm). Historically famous as the source of quinine - once the world’s most valued antimalarial - cinchona also offers other alkaloids useful for digestive problems, fevers, and arrhythmias. The bark is bitter, astringent, and stimulates appetite and digestion.Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua), or qing hao, is an aromatic annual in the daisy family with finely divided, feathery leaves and small yellowish flower heads. Celebrated for containing artemisinin, it’s a potent antimalarial remedy, also showing antibacterial and antiparasitic properties.
- Safety & precautions
- Cinchonism: Quinine and the related alkaloids cause a recognized toxicity syndrome - ringing in the ears, hearing loss, headache, nausea, blurred vision and dizziness - and it begins at doses close to the ones traditional texts describe. Blood: Quinine can trigger severe immune thrombocytopenia, a sudden collapse in platelet count, and hemolysis in people with G6PD deficiency. These reactions are unpredictable and can follow a single exposure. Heart: The bark contains quinidine, an antiarrhythmic that prolongs the QT interval and can itself provoke dangerous rhythms. Avoid alongside other QT-prolonging medicines. Interactions: Quinine and quinidine interact with anticoagulants, digoxin, other antiarrhythmics, and many drugs cleared by the liver. Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Avoid. Higher doses are oxytocic and have been associated with harm to the fetus. General: Regulators have withdrawn or restricted over-the-counter quinine products because of these risks. Cinchona bark is not something to self-dose - malaria and heart-rhythm problems both need medical care.Professional Advice: Take only with guidance, especially for malaria. Pregnancy & Nursing: Not recommended. High Doses: Potentially toxic; do not exceed recommended amounts.
Safety text above is printed in full and is never abbreviated. For each plant’s complete precautions, drug and food interactions and preparation notes, open its own page - both are free.