China

China officinalis is prepared from the dried bark of the Cinchona tree, primarily Cinchona officinalis, native to South America. The bark contains a range of alkaloids, the most notable of which is quinine (C₂₀H₂₄N₂O₂), historically known for its antimalarial action.

First proved by Samuel Hahnemann, who discovered its fever-producing properties on healthy individuals—an observation that led to the formulation of the homeopathic law of similars. Published in Materia Medica Pura.

China officinalis is a remedy of exhaustion, hypersensitivity, and periodicity, especially after loss of fluids. Its central theme is debility from depletion—the body becomes overwhelmed by minor stimuli, with intense reactions to light, sound, touch, and pain. The mind is detached or melancholic; the body, bloated yet drained.

Blood; liver; spleen; digestive system; nerves; mucous membranes; mind; senses (especially hearing).

The mental state of China officinalis is marked by excitability alternating with indifference, irritability, and hypersensitivity to sensory impressions. Hahnemann described the mental picture as oversensitive and overreactive, particularly to noise, odours, and touch. Kent emphasises that the patient becomes melancholic, gloomy, and feels isolated, yet is prone to grandiose ideas and fantasies, especially when weakened. Clarke described emotional detachment and a disinclination to speak. Delusions, such as believing they are persecuted or mistreated, are noted. The mind tires easily, and memory is weak.

Sleep is restless, disturbed by vivid dreams and bodily discomfort. Clarke and Hering record talking in sleep, waking frequently, and unrefreshing sleep. Worse after midnight.

Anxious, frightful, or fantastic dreams. Clarke notes dreams of misfortune, accidents, or falling. May wake in fright or remain anxious upon waking.

Extreme weakness after loss of fluids, such as bleeding, diarrhoea, sweating, or breastfeeding. Clarke and Kent both highlight this as the central keynote. Oversensitive to pain, touch, odour, light, and sound. Rapid loss of strength and emaciation.

Intermittent fever with marked periodicity. Clarke describes chill followed by heat and then sweat. Fever often occurs at the same hour daily, especially around 3–4 am. Profuse night sweats without relief.

Chill begins in the extremities; heat is dry and burning. Sweat is debilitating, sour-smelling, and occurs mostly at night. Clarke emphasises lack of thirst during fever stages.

Pulsating, congestive headaches, often with fullness and throbbing, especially in the temples. Clarke described headaches worse from slight touch but better from hard pressure. Vertigo is frequent, especially from loss of fluids or upon rising. Headaches may follow haemorrhage, diarrhoea, or emotional excitement.

Oversensitivity to light; burning and dryness. Vision may be blurred or dim, with coloured halos around objects. Clarke reports photophobia and neuralgic pain in the eyes. Eyelids may twitch. Pain around orbits, worse from eye strain.

Ringing, buzzing, and hypersensitivity to noise are common. Hering describes auditory hallucinations and a feeling that all sounds are too loud. Clarke notes neuralgic pains and tension behind the ears, especially after weakness from blood loss.

Epistaxis from slight provocation. Nose may be dry, with diminished or altered sense of smell. Clarke records that the mucous membranes are pale and dry.

Pale, sunken, and sallow, particularly in chronic states. Clarke notes neuralgic facial pain, often unilateral, periodic, and worse at night or from cold air. The face may be flushed during headaches or after weakness.

Dryness, bitterness, or metallic taste. Clarke describes aphthae and bleeding gums. The tongue is often coated white or yellow. Teeth may ache with exposure to air or cold, worse at night.

Toothache worse at night or from cold drinks. Clarke describes neuralgic pain radiating to the temples. Teeth may feel too long or sensitive.

Dryness and soreness, especially on waking. Pain on swallowing. Clarke mentions a feeling of constriction or irritation in the throat, especially after talking or from exposure to wind.

Oppression and pressure, especially after loss of fluids. Clarke describes suffocative sensations and periodic dry cough, worse at night. Spasmodic cough with painful chest walls. Palpitations may follow physical exertion or loss of blood.

Palpitations from slightest exertion or emotion. Clarke notes weak, irregular pulse and cold extremities. Faintness may follow blood loss or fasting.

Difficult, especially in a warm room. Clarke recorded sighing, with need to breathe deeply. Worse lying down; better sitting up.

Excessive flatulence with distension and no relief from eructation. Clarke emphasises bloating after meals with sensation as if the abdomen would burst. Appetite may be ravenous or completely lost. Nausea, sour vomiting, and sensitivity to pressure are prominent.

Tympanitic distension and gurgling. Clarke and Hering describe pain from accumulation of gas, worse from light touch, better from firm pressure. Spleen is enlarged and tender, especially in cases of post-malarial or post-haemorrhagic states.

Painless, offensive diarrhoea, especially after eating or at night. Clarke describes undigested food in stool. Diarrhoea alternates with constipation. Haemorrhoids may be bleeding but painless. Flatulence is constant and offensive.

Frequent urination, with pale or dark yellow urine. Clarke notes involuntary urination at night. May experience burning in the urethra or a feeling of incomplete evacuation.

Desire for sour things, cold drinks, and carbonated beverages. Aversion to meat and warm food. Clarke mentions that digestion is slow, and the patient feels worse after eating fruit or milk.

Weakness after sexual activity. Clarke and Hering record diminished libido and emissions with fatigue and weakness. Genitals may be cold, and semen is thin and scanty.

Menses are profuse and exhausting. Clarke mentions uterine haemorrhage after delivery or miscarriage. Leucorrhoea that is yellow, offensive, and worsens at night. General weakness follows any discharge.

Pain and weakness in lumbar spine, particularly after exertion or fluid loss. Clarke and Kent describe soreness and stiffness in the dorsal and lumbar areas.

Trembling, numbness, and weakness, especially after haemorrhage or fever. Clarke notes jerking of muscles and periodic numbness. Coldness in the limbs, with pallor and lack of energy.

Pale, thin, and easily bruised. Clarke noted eruptions like urticaria or prickling with chilliness. Profuse sweat without relief. Slow healing of wounds or ulcers due to anaemia.

• more anxious, chilly, and burning; China is more bloated, indifferent, and periodic in nature.
• Carbo vegetabilis – Also has debility from fluid loss, but with more pronounced coldness and desire for air. China has hypersensitivity and fullness; Carbo veg. is collapsed and gasping.
• Ferrum metallicum – Both follow blood loss. Ferrum is more flushing and pale alternately, with easy bleeding. China has more distension and periodicity.
• Phosphoric acid – Also has mental indifference after loss of fluids or grief. Phos-ac. is more emotionally apathetic and quietly withdrawn; China is sensitive and irritable.
• Cinchona sulphurica (China sulph.) – Similar in sphere, but with more violent chills, stronger liver action, and offensive discharges. Often used when China fails.

• Complementary: Arnica montana, Ferrum metallicum
• Antidotes: Arsenicum album, Belladonna
• Inimical: Ipecacuanha (some authors suggest incompatibility)
• Follows Well: Arnica, Carbo vegetabilis, Pulsatilla
• Precedes Well: Sulphur, China sulphurica

Use in post-haemorrhagic weakness, chronic fevers with periodicity, debility after diarrhoea or night sweats. Excellent for patients weakened by excessive breastfeeding, overwork, or chronic malarial states. Use 30C or 200C in acute situations; LM potencies in chronic fatigue conditions.

Mind

• Sensitive, noise, to
• Sensitive, touch, to
• Delusions, persecuted, of
• Indifference, external things, to
• Irritability, trifles, from
• Loquacity, alternating with taciturnity

Head

• Pain, pulsating, temples
• Headache, touch, from slight
• Vertigo, anaemia, from
• Congestion, head, from loss of fluids

Stomach & Abdomen

• Flatulence, upper abdomen
• Distension, tympanitic
• Pain, pressure amel.
• Appetite, ravenous, yet weak

Rectum

• Diarrhoea, painless
• Diarrhoea, night, during
• Stools, undigested food
• Haemorrhoids, painless, bleeding

General

• Weakness, from loss of fluids
• Oversensitive, senses
• Debility, chronic
• Sweat, night, exhausting
• Fever, periodic, same hour daily

Samuel Hahnemann – Materia Medica Pura
James Tyler Kent – Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica
John Henry Clarke – Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica
Constantine Hering – Guiding Symptoms of Our Materia Medica
William Boericke – Pocket Manual of Materia Medica