Evening star., 1938-12-04
.Laboratoryto
.SeekQuiinine
Substitute
New Base Located
Here Will Try to
NuIIify Monopoly
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
A chemotherapy laboratory soon
is to be established here as part Of
the National Institute of Health Of
the Public Health Service for re-
searches directed toward producing
synthetic derivatives of quinine.
AT present, it was revealed to the
National Advisory Health Council
at its semi-annual meeting yester-
day, most of the actual drug comes
from Java and constitutes virtually
monopoly of the Netherlands gov
ernment. A number of synthetic
derivatives, the chief of which is
plasmochin, widely used in treat
ment and prevention of malaria,
have been produced in Germany
and are covered by German patents.
Quinine remains one of the basic
drugs of medicine and on it de-
pends the health of a vast number
OF the American people living in ma
larlal districts. In case of war Shut
ting off trade with the Orient, the
United States might be badly Grip
pied by f1are-up of malaria. It is
doubtful If the few South American
plantations could come near meet
ing the demand.
Seek Habit-Free Forms.
The quinine derivatives research
will be combined with work in
progress for some years on the
production of opium-like deriva-
tiveS which may have the PAIN
killing properties of opium itself
without its habit forming ten
dencies. The whole program, as
approved by the National Advisory
Council. will be under the direction
of DR.. Lyndon F.. Small, who has
been working for some years on
the opium derivatives at the Univer-
slty OF Virginia. Associated with
hlm will be pharmacologist
biologists and chemists to carry on
the opium and quinine work.
Hitherto the opium work has been
distributed at several universities.
At Charlottesville, DR.. Small has
produced scores of Heterogeneous
OF the opium molecule and for
several of these Federal public
service patents have been obtained
| in order to contain control in the
hands Of the Government. All are
considered dangerous drugs. AS
| each new substance has come from
the University Of Virginia labora-
tory it has been tested on expert
mental animals to determine three
thlngS-ltS paln-killing properties,
its habit-forming tendencies and
its toxicity. Thus far none Of the
materials has proved superior to
opium itself. A great number of
possibilities remain to bO produced
and tested when the new laboratory
is set up here. DR.. Small Is eY-
pected to get the new project under
way in a few months.
Grows Wild In Andes.
With vast areas of the United
States still malarial, it was pointed
out, there could be few greater Ca
lamitieS than to be shut off from
an adequate supply of quinine. This
drug is obtained from the bark Of
the Cinchona tree which grows
wild on the eastern slopes of the
Andes. Its effects were first dis
covered by Jesuit missionaries and
it was long known as Jesuit bark"
Early in the 18th century the
supply fell far short of the demand.
The price scared to $40 an ounce.
The dutch, knowing that they have
in Java the soil, temperature, ele-
vation and humidity almost iden-
tical with those in the trees native
habitat. planted the tree in Java
and the experiment met with al
most immediate success. The trees
now thrive better under cultiva-
ton on that island than in the
Andes. New methods of cultiva-
sion were worked out with the re-
suit that bark was obtained yield
ing as high as 10 per cent of
quinine sulphate. The highest yield
OF the wild trees from to S per
cent. Approximately 15,0OO,00C
pounds of bark are exported year.
" to keep the world free of ma
laria.
Attempts by the British to du-
plicate such results in India and
Ceylon proved unsuccessful. Some
success has been reached by Gin
chona plantations in Peru, Ecua-
dor, Bolivia and Colombia, but these
90 not produce a supply at all
adequate for the world trade.
Yellow Fever Vaccine.
AT the meeting of the National
Advisory Council. composed of some
OF the country's foremost scientists.
DR.. L. R. Thompson, director of the
National Institute of Health, ex-
planned plans for laboratory study of
the production and use of yellow
fever vaccine which has become an
outstanding problem since the Pub
lie Health Service has found the
possibility of introducing this dread
ed disease into the United States
from South America by means of
airplanes.
DR.. r. A. Vonderlehr, Assistant
Surgeon General, presented the
Public Health Service program for
the control of venereal diseases and
reports were presented on the prog
ress OF leprosy Investigations in both
the Continental United States and
IN Hawaii. Members of the council
also considered number of CO.
operative studies to be carried on
jointly by the National Institute
OF Health, State universities and
I