The active ingredient against malaria, the alkaloid quinine, was isolated in the 1820s, prompting further cultivation of trees, especially C. ledgeriana and C. succirubra. In the 1940s, after the active alkaloid was isolated and identified drug companies were able to develop synthetic quinine. Some strains of malaria have become resistant to the synthetic quinine which has instigated renewed interest in sourcing natural quinine from cinchona.
In treating malaria, the mode of action of cinchona bark may be both antipyretic (anti-fever), and antimicrobial; that is to say that cinchona might be treating the symptoms of the infection, i.e., the fever, while also combating the microorganism itself. The microorganism that causes malaria is called a protist and not a virus or bacterium. The mechanisms by which quinine interferes with the protist are becoming more clear with advanced research…
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The Dogwood is a very close relative of the Chichona and works the same way , and since there are no chichona growing where I live I use Dogwood.