Quinacrine

Quinacrine, also known by its trade name of Atabrine, was the first synthetic antimalarial drug available in the U.S. Originally synthesized in Germany in the 1930s, its distribution to U.S. troops at risk began in 1942. Compliance was a problem, as it turned the skin yellow, and casused nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin staining, psychosis, lichen planus, and exfoliative dermatitis. Weina observed that the first dose was often given to troops aboard a ship approaching a combat area, so anxiety, seasickness, and gastrointestinal upset were therefore blamed on the drug when other factors could have been responsible. Military folklore also claimed that quinacrine caused impotence.

While it is still produced, it has largely been superceded, for malaria, by chloroquine. It remains the drug of choice for infections with Giardia sp. intestinal parasites. It has been used as a nonsurgical means of female sterilization.

It has also been used as an anthelmintic and in the treatment of malignant effusions. It is used in cell biological experiments as an inhibitor of phospholipase A2.