Heat treatment of a solution of MeOH and water containing the quitenine ligand HQA [HQA = 6-methoxyl-(8S,9R)-cinchonan-9-ol-3-carboxylic acid] and ZnCl2 at 70 degrees C to give the one-dimensional (1D) chain coordination polymer {(HQA)(ZnCl2)(2.5H(2)O)}(n) (1). The local coordination geometry around the zinc center in 1 displays a slightly distorted tetrahedron, with the HQA ligand adopting a zwitterionic moiety similar to that found in natural amino acids. Measurements on a powdered sample of 1 reveal a strong second-harmonic-generation response of ca. 20 times larger than that for KDP (KH2PO4). Notably, measurements on the dielectric properties of 1 showed that the 1D chain coordination polymer exhibited a dipolar chain relaxation process and a high dielectric constant (epsilon(0) = 37.3).