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# Malaria Drug not Recommended for Leg Cramps
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/malaria_drug_not_recommended_for_leg_cramps_070920101154/
- Published: 2010-07-09T12:49:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-20T15:47:49.000Z
- Description: The FDA reviewed adverse event reports from 2005 to 2008 and concluded that Qualaquin, approved to treat malaria, should not be given for leg cramps because its active ingredient, quinine, puts patients at risk of serious blood disorders.
- Author: Rachel Stockton
- Tags: Other Diseases, Avoiding Illness, #vivvo-import

After following data reported to its adverse event reporting program from 2005-2008, the Food and Drug Administration has determined that a drug approved for treating malaria should not be given to patients for leg cramps. The agency discovered that the drug places patients at risk for serious blood disorders.

Qualaquin is produced by AR Scientific; the active ingredient is quinine, the source of the aforementioned complications.

History of Malaria and Quinine as its Cure

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, malaria is a disease transmitted through mosquitoes carrying a specific type of parasite. Although not fully eradicated, malaria typically only affects travelers returning home from malaria endemic regions, such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The National Malaria Eradication Program, which became active in 1947, is largely responsible for the virtual elimination of the disease in the United States. In 1947, 15,000 cases were reported nationally. By 1950, only 2,000 people became infected. In 1951, malaria was considered eliminated.

 Malaria has been around for about 4,000 years. The CDC estimates that the disease was a primary factor in determining whether or not the population of certain regions flourished or waned.   
It wasn’t until 1880 that researchers discovered that malaria is parasite-borne. A French army surgeon stationed in Algeria was the first medical professional to discover parasites in the blood of malaria patients. The physician, Alphonse Laveran, was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery in 1907.

In 1897, a British Officer named Ronald Ross discovered that malaria could be transmitted to mosquitoes from humans.

In the United States, once the puzzle of the origin and transmission of the disease was solved, the next 5 decades were devoted to controlling and ultimately eliminating the disease through various efforts. Controlling water levels that provided a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and using insecticide were the most common.

Until the 1940s, quinine was the most effective way to treat malaria victims; using the drug to relieve muscle cramps is an off-label treatment. The FDA banned the use of over-the-counter quinine for leg cramps in 1994\. Until that time, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals manufactured Legatrin, which was expressly sold for this purpose.