Daily Curiosities: Tonic Water was Used to Prevent Malaria
POSTED by: on 10/24/2009
(0)Tonic water is a liquid that it often used as a mix in for alcoholic drinks, but did you know that it was originally used to prevent malaria? As the European powers colonized South Asia and and Africa, they began encountering new diseases such as malaria that caused much pain and suffering.
One of the solutions to the malaria epidemics was quinine, which was known to help ease the symptoms. However, quinine is extremely bitter and so it was diluted in water to create tonic water. In modern times, tonic water isn’t used as a cure or prevention of malaria, but that is how it began, as a medicine to prevent malaria.
An interesting note: tonic water glows blue under a black light, due to the quinine in it.
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