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more about cinchona
cinchona |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Peruvian \Pe*ru"vi*an\, a. [Cf. F. p['e]ruvien, Sp peruviano.] Of or pertaining to Peru, in South America. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of Peru. {Peruvian balsam}. See {Balsam of Peru}, under {Balsam}. {Peruvian bark}, the bitter bark of trees of various species of Cinchona. It acts as a powerful tonic, and is a remedy for malarial diseases. This property is due to several alkaloids, as quinine, cinchonine, etc., and their compounds; -- called also {Jesuit's bark}, and {cinchona}. See {Cinchona}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Cinchona \Cin*cho"na\, n. [So named from the wife of Count Chinchon, viceroy of Peru in the seventeenth century, who by its use was freed from an intermittent fever, and after her return to Spain, contributed to the general propagation of this remedy.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of trees growing naturally on the Andes in Peru and adjacent countries, but now cultivated in the East Indies, producing a medicinal bark of great value. 2. (Med.) The bark of any species of {Cinchona} containing three per cent. or more of bitter febrifuge alkaloids; Peruvian bark; Jesuits' bark. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: cinchona n : any of several trees of the genus Cinchona [syn: {chinchona}]
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