Quinine and the Birth of the Dye Industry

As we just learned, the 19th century brought about the practice of isolating compounds with medicinal properties from their natural sources, such as a variety of alkaloids. But one such alkaloid deserves its own chapter in this story, and that is quinine. This compound is found in the bark of the Cinchona trees native to Peru, and was discovered to effectively combat malaria. Eventually, the compound responsible for this property was isolated, and named quinine, after the local name for the tree itself, "quina-quina". Given that a supply of this substance was integral for any empire intending to expand into Africa and other territories, and that the bark itself was limited, great effort was put towards synthesizing quinine. It was futile in the 19th century, as the comprehension of chemistry just wasn't there yet. But the demand led to a series of fortuitous accidents, first by William Perkin and his discovery of revolutionary synthetic dyes, and then the development of the dye industry which eventually gave rise to the modern pharmaceutical industry. Let's get the full story now!

Script by Vittorio Farina

Animation by Cyrene Domogalla

Watch the full series

Pharmacology Tutorials

Immunology Tutorials

Microbiology/Infectious Diseases Tutorials

General Chemistry Tutorials

Organic Chemistry Tutorials

Biochemistry Tutorials

Biology/Genetics Tutorials

Anatomy & Physiology Tutorials

Biopsychology Tutorials

EMAIL► ProfessorDaveExplains@gmail.com

Check out "Is This Wi-Fi Organic?", my book on disarming pseudoscience!

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository