Quinine and quinidine photoproducts can be identical.

Quinine and its d-isomer quinidine can both cause contact allergy as well as photoallergy. Contact allergic cross-reactions between quinine and quinidine are uncommon. In allergic photosensitization the two isomers cross-react, suggesting the possibility that quinine and quinidine after UV exposure are converted to one or more common sensitizing photoproducts. Solutions of quinine and quinidine at 0.1% in ethanol 99.5% were exposed to UVA for 14 h (total dose 201.6 J/cm2). Using thin-layer chromatography, we identified 8 and 6 photoproducts from irradiated quinine and quinidine, respectively. Five of these photoproducts were seen in both chromatograms. An identical pattern with four photoproducts was found for both irradiated solutions when these were subjected to analysis in a high-performance liquid chromatography system. This study indicates that photoproducts from irradiated quinine and quinidine can be identical. This would explain the differences in the cross-reactivity pattern between contact and photocontact sensitization clinically.