The role of quinine in haemolysis.

Quinine produces haemolysis of rabbit and human red blood cells in concentrations up to 1 in 700. In a concentration of 1 in 10,000 it increases the degree of haemolysis produced by various haemolytic agents like saponin, bile salts and digitonin in vitro. Quinine when injected intravenously in 35 mg./kg. dose in rabbits increases the susceptibility of red blood cells to the haemolytic action of saponin. Intravascular haemolysis following the administration of quinine is seen in cases of blackwater fever, and on the basis of experimental work described in the paper it is suggested that quinine precipitates these haemolytic episodes by rendering the red blood cells more susceptible to the action of tissue lytic factors.