Cinchona succirubra (bark extract)
ingredient / ingredient-cinchona-extract
キナ抽出物
Cinchona succirubra (bark extract) is an extract obtained from red cinchona bark, with quinidine, quinine, and cinchonine as its principal components (according to the definition of Item 83 in Japan's List of Existing Food Additives). It is used in drinks and other products to impart bitterness.
Photographs (captions in Japanese)
Rolled specimens of cinchona bark collected and stored at British cinchona plantations in India around 1860-1910. A museum specimen photograph from the Wellcome Collection, showing the raw bark material itself, not a liquid extract.
Shown: Cinchona sp. (written in the source as "Cinchona Calaysia"; no scientific identification of the species in the source)Part / state: Specimens of rolled bark pieces (around 1860-1910, from India, museum specimens)
Photo: Unknown maker; digitized by Wellcome Collection / CC BY 4.0 / original image / ledger's original image
Scope and provenance of the photo
Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. The scientific name field in entities.csv is Cinchona succirubra (bark extract), but the label in the source indicates a "Cinchona Calaysia" line, and a match in species identification has not been confirmed. Note that the photograph shows a bark specimen, not the extract itself.
Image shown: After obtaining the full-size file from Wikimedia Commons, NIGAMI LAB reduced it to about 2400 px on the long side with sips. No cropping or color changes. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.
On this page (9 sections)
Reading the bitterness
Japan's List of Existing Food Additives (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 120 of April 16, Heisei 8) includes, as Item 83, 『キナ抽出物(アカキナの樹皮から得られた、キニジン、キニーネ及びシンコニンを主成分とするものをいう。)』 (in translation: "cinchona extract, obtained from red cinchona bark, with quinidine, quinine, and cinchonine as its principal components"). The list gives only the item name and definition; it does not set standards for the foods in which it may be used or amounts of use.
Treccani's china entry says the history of cinchona bark in Europe begins in the early 17th century. A 1638 anecdote in which General López sent powdered cinchona bark to the Countess of Chinchón is described there as the origin of the common name 『伯爵夫人の粉』 (in translation: "the Countess's powder"); the entry also describes its subsequent spread in Europe through the Jesuits. This is a history of introduction as told by the encyclopedia, not a verification that the anecdote itself is historically true.
The bitters entry in The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails lists gentian, cinchona bark, and wormwood as representative core bittering ingredients in bitters. The reference work places cinchona extract among the ingredients that make up such bitter drinks.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Checked the wording of Item 83 in the List of Existing Food Additives.
Checked for this overview: Checked the introduction history and Countess of Chinchón anecdote in Treccani's china entry.
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails — “bitters” entry
Checked for this overview: Checked the list of core bittering ingredients in the Oxford Companion's bitters entry.
Follow the connections
vino chinato →is defined in a dictionary …→ Cinchona succirubra (bark extract)
aromatic cocktail bitters →is flavoured with→ Cinchona succirubra (bark extract)
Aperol →is flavoured with→ Cinchona succirubra (bark extract)
Cinchona succirubra (bark extract) →— sensory attribute→ bitterness →can be measured separately …→ astringency
Cinchona succirubra (bark extract) →differs from→ gentian root →— sensory attribute→ bitterness
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (2)
Scope: Aromatic bitters for cocktails, in general.
Note: A general statement from a reference-book entry, not an analytical value showing any individual brand's formulation. Because this differs in character from the existing ingredient-cinchona-extract entity (defined under Japan's existing food-additive list), it is linked via object_entity_id while keeping the two descriptions distinct.
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ingredient-aromatic-bitters —is_flavoured_with→ ingredient-cinchona-extractScope: The Aperol official FAQ (the company's own description).
Note: Connected to the existing ingredient-cinchona-extract entry. A direct containment relationship with the existing compound-quinine entry cannot be confirmed from Aperol's official page (we do not make that connection here on the basis of the general-knowledge equation cinchona bark = quinine).
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ingredient-aperol —is_flavoured_with→ ingredient-cinchona-extractSensory (2)
Scope: Codex medicamentarius Gallicus, 1908 edition (Internet Archive item codexmedicamenta0000phar), the relevant body-text entry
Note: A sequential taste description for the yellow cinchona extract: "sweet at first, then a weak bitterness." The same pharmacopoeia's "EXTRAIT DE QUASSIA" entry uses the stronger expression "saveur très amère" (in translation: "a very bitter taste").
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterScope: The CHINA (yellow and red cinchona bark) entry in the 2nd (1902) and 3rd (1909) editions of the Farmacopea Ufficiale
Note: The same statement as the first edition's (1892) CHINA entry, "sapore amaro", is confirmed again in the 1902 and 1909 editions. In the 1909 edition, both the yellow and red cinchona varieties each carry their own "Sapore amaro" entry.
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterSafety and regulation (2)
Scope: Japan; List of Existing Food Additives (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 120, April 16, Heisei 8)
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —is_listed_in_japan_existing_food_additives_list→ (the claim sentence above)Scope: Full text of the ANSM public PDF (china-rubra-quinquina-rouge-pph.pdf); in force as of 2026-09-04
Note: A source that does not speak of bitterness (a negative finding). It shows that the taste description itself — where the 1908-edition Codex described the cinchona preparation's properties as "faiblement amère" — has been lost from the equivalent current monograph.
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —differs_from→ ingredient-gentian-rootCulture (2)
Scope: Treccani encyclopedia, entry "china" (Enciclopedia Italiana)
Note: [Discourse note] 'eupeptico,' 'stimulant,' and 'stomach medicine (stomachico)' are a paraphrase of the dictionary's (an old Enciclopedia Italiana entry's) classificatory description; this project is not verifying or asserting any pharmacological effect. Because this source differs in character from the existing ingredient-cinchona-extract entry (Japan's List of Existing Food Additives definition), the two are connected via object_entity_id without conflating their descriptions.
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ingredient-vino-chinato —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ ingredient-cinchona-extractScope: Treccani encyclopedia, entry "china" (Enciclopedia Italiana)
Note: A paraphrase of 'La storia della china comincia solo al principio del sec. XVII' (in translation: "The history of cinchona bark begins only at the start of the 17th century"). Not a source that verifies the historicity of the anecdote itself, but recorded as the transmission history the encyclopedia records.
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —has_discovery_history→ (the claim sentence above)