Quin/ine sulfate and quin/ine hydrochloride are both extremely bitter white crystals. The former is slightly soluble in water and is taken orally, while the latter is soluble in water and is used for injection. Euquininum is the ethyl carbonate of qui/nine, an almost odorless white crystal that children can take orally. Quini/ne is also the raw material of toning water.

One popular story about Qui/nine is that in 1638 Condessa de Chinchon, wife of the Viceroy of Peru, contracted vivax malaria, and the Spanish governor who ruled the Andean region brought in powdered cinchona bark. The local aborigines told the governor that the bark could reduce fever, and it really worked. When the countess took it back to her native Spain, the bark powder became the first effective treatment for malaria in Europe. But historical research suggests there may have been no such thing, that the Governor's wife never had malaria. The most effective form of qui/nine for malaria was discovered in 1737. In 1820, two French chemists, Pelletier and Caventou, isolated it from the bark of Quina and named it Qui/nine or cream of Quin/ine. The name comes from the Native Inca tree name quina-quina. Large-scale use began around 1850.

In 1693, French missionary John Hong cured Emperor Kangxi of malaria with cinchona cream. Later, Cao Xueqin's grandfather Jinling Weaving Cao Yin suffered from malaria and asked emperor Kangxi for Jinchina cream. Li Xu, a weaver from Suzhou, said, "Yin told me that if the doctor didn't take the medicine, I would be saved by the master's holy medicine." After Kangxi knew this, he specially "sent post-horses to the starry night." He also repeatedly ordered, "If it is not malaria, this medicine can not be used. Cao Yin died before the medicine arrived.