Glowing Jell-O

You need:

A package of Jell-O or other gelatin, tonic water & black light.

Directions:

Basically you just follow the directions on the package, except use tonic water instead of water. For a small package, the usual directions would be to heat 1 cup of tonic water to boiling. Mix the boiling tonic water and Jell-O until the powder is completely dissolved. Stir in another cup of tonic water. Pour the liquid into a pan or bowl. Refrigerate the Jell-O until is has set.You can use cookie cutters to make shapes out of the gelatin, if desired. Shine a black light on the Jell-O to make it glow. 

No matter what flavor/color of Jell-O you use, it will glow bright blue under the black light. This is the fluorescence of the quinine in the tonic water. Quinine also gives tonic water a distinctive bitter flavor which you will also taste in the gelatin. If you don’t like the taste you can lessen it by using half tonic water and half tap water in the recipe. Either sugar-free or regular tonic water works fine for this recipe. 

This molecule is called Quinine.

It’s a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic (fever-reducing), antimalarial, analgesic (painkilling), anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste.

Though it has been synthesized in the lab, quinine occurs naturally in the bark of the cinchona tree. The medicinal properties of the cinchona tree were originally discovered by the Quechua Indians of Peru and Bolivia; later, the Jesuits were the first to bring the cinchona to Europe.

Quinine was the first effective treatment for malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, appearing in therapeutics in the 17th century. It remained the antimalarial drug of choice until the 1940s, when other drugs replaced it that have less unpleasant side effects.