Quinine hydrochloride
Quinine hydrochlorideCAS 6119-47-7
Listed as a flavouring agent by the US.
Listed as flavouring agents and adjuvants (US)
- United States: Flavoring agent or adjuvant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: QUININE HYDROCHLORIDE
The hydrochloride salt of quinine, the bitter principle of cinchona bark and what gives tonic water its taste. It is used as a flavouring agent, and it fluoresces under ultraviolet light.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Canada | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| European Union | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Great Britain | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Japan | No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance. | ||
| South Korea | No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance. | ||
| United States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
What it is made from
Obtained from the bark of cinchona trees — Cinchona succirubra, C. officinalis, C. calisaya and C. ledgeriana — and converted to the hydrochloride.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 6119-47-7
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
Quinine Hydrochloride
The hydrochloride of a natural substance, quinine, obtained from the bark of various species of Cinchona including Cinchona succirubra , Pavon. (red cinchona); Cinchona officinalis , Linn; Cinchona calizaya , Wenddell; Cinchona ledgeriana , Moens.
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 41st JECFA (1993), published in FNP 52 Add 2 (1993) superseding specifications prepared at the 39th JECFA (1992), published in FNP 54 Add 1 (1992). Not of toxicological concern at current uses levels up to 100 mg/l in soft drinks, 41st JECFA (1993)
- Chemical names
- (8S,9R)-6-methoxy-4-quinolenyl-5-vinyl-2-quinuclidinylmethanol hydrochloride dihydrate; (8S,9R)-6'-methoxycinchonan-9-ol-hydrochloride dihydrate
- C.A.S. number
- 6119-47-7
- Chemical formula
- C 20 H 24 N 2 O 2 · HCl · 2H 2 O
- Formula weight
- 396.92
- Assay
- Not less than 99.0% and not more than 101.0% on the dried basis
- DESCRIPTION
- White, silky, glittering needles; odourless, effloresces when exposed to warm air
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Flavouring agent
- METHOD OF ASSAY
- Dissolve about 150 mg of the sample, accurately weighed, in 20 ml of acetic anhydride, add 2 drops of malachite green TS and 5.5 ml of mercuric acetate TS and titrate with 0.1 N perchloric acid from a micro-buret to a yellow endpoint. Perform a blank determination and correct the sample titre as necessary. Each ml of 0.1 N perchloric acid is equivalent to 18.04 mg of C 20 H 24 N 2 O 2 · HCl.
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Soluble in water; very soluble in ethanol; freely soluble in chloroform; very slightly soluble in ether
- Specific rotation (Vol. 4)
- [alpha] 25, D: Between -247 o and -258 o (2% w/v solution in 0.1 N hydrochloric acid)
- Colour test
- To 5 ml of a 1 in 1000 solution of the sample add 1 or 2 drops of bromine TS followed by 1 ml of ammonia TS. The liquid acquires an emerald green colour.
- Test for chloride (Vol. 4)
- Passes test
Purity criteria
- Loss on drying (Vol. 4)
- Not less than 6% and not more than 10% (105 o , 3h)
- pH (Vol. 4)
- Between 6.0 and 6.8 (1 in 100 solution)
- Sulfated ash (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 0.1% Test 2 g of the sample (Method I)
- Barium
- To 10 ml of a hot solution of the sample (1 in 20) add 1 ml of dilute sulfuric acid TS. No turbidity is produced.
- Sulfates (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 0.05% Test 500 mg of sample as directed in the Limit Test using 0.5 ml of 0.01 N sulfuric acid in the control
- Chloroform-ethanol insoluble substances
- 1 g of the sample dissolves completely in 7 ml of a mixture of 2 volumes of chloroform and 1 volume of absolute ethanol.
- Dihydroquinine hydrochloride
- Not more than 4% calculated on the basis of the dried substance See description under TESTS.
- Foreign alkaloids
- Dissolve 0.1 g of the sample in 2 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid and add 2 drops of concentrated nitric acid. No change in colour occurs.
- Other cinchona alkaloids
- Dissolve 1 g of the sample in 35 ml of boiling water and add to the boiling solution 6 ml of a 5% w/v solution of potassium chromate. Allow to cool for 3 h and filter through a sintered glass filter. Add to the clear filtrate 2 drops of sodium hydroxide TS. No visible change takes place in the solution. Heat the solution on a water bath for 1 h and then set aside for 24 h. The solution remains clear.
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 2 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, “Instrumental Methods.”
- Test: Dihydroquinine hydrochloride
- Place about 0.1 g of the sample accurately weighed, in a flask fitted with a ground glass stopper. Add 1 ml of 1 N hydrochloric acid. When the sample has dissolved add 10 ml of methanol and 10 ml of 0.1 N bromine. Close the flask and keep protected from light for 10 min, shaking gently from time to time. Rapidly add 20 ml of methanol, 3 ml of N potassium iodide solution and titrate with 0.1 N sodium thiosulfate using 1 ml of starch TS added towards the end of the titration as indicator. Carry out a blank determination. Calculate the content of dihydroquinine hydrochloride, in % by the formula: where n = number of ml of 0.1 N sodium thiosulfate used in the test n 1 = number of ml of 0.1 N sodium thiosulfate used in the blank p = weight of sample in g
Every name it appears under
1 recorded name. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- Quinine hydrochloride
Hazard reference values
No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.
Evidence and how bodies read it
Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.
Common questions
Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.
- What is Quinine hydrochloride?
- The hydrochloride salt of quinine, the bitter principle of cinchona bark and what gives tonic water its taste. It is used as a flavouring agent, and it fluoresces under ultraviolet light.
- What is Quinine hydrochloride used for in food?
- It is listed as a flavouring agent — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
- Is Quinine hydrochloride vegan?
- Yes. Quinine hydrochloride is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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