Quassia amara L.
EOL Text
FG Creole: couachi, quinquina de Cayenne. Guyana Creole: bitter ash, bitter bush, quashie bitters, quassia bitters. Surinam Creole: kwasibita, kwasi bita, kwasi-bita, kwasi-bita bloem knoppen. Surinam Sranan: bitterhout. Guyana Patamona:ya-ko-yik, ya-ku-yik.
Quassia bitters and the Quassia amara plant are discussed in detail in Ref: 193, pp.24-28.
Stem-bark contains the insecticidals neoquassine and quassine. Sap shows activity against cells derived from carcinoma of human nasopharynx. Plant extracts contain the antileukemic compounds quassimarin and similikalactone.
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 6
Specimens with Barcodes: 9
Species With Barcodes: 1
Root: Infusion used to reduce malarial fever (overdose believed to cause paralysis). Bark: Bark is boiled and the water drunk as an anti-diarrheal, as an anti-dysenteric, and as an antimalarial, by the Guyana Patamona. Macerated inner bark is boiled, and the water drunk to treat colds, by the Guyana Patamona. Bark and Leaf: Bark and leaves are boiled, and the water drunk as an anti-pyretic, by the Guyana Patamona.
Stem: Wood chips are decocted in lotions for persistent venereal ulcers. Infusion of wood and fresh roots is used for refractory fevers, tonic, aperitive and febrifuge. In French Guiana an alcohol extract is called "quassine". Piece of wood in water, gin, vermouth or cognac is drunk as a pyretic for fever, e.g., malarial fever. Infusion is a good tonic for the stomach and intestines. Stem is also used in remedies for diseases of the spleen, liver (cirrhosis), and urinary tract. Bark used as a blood purifier and for treating weak eyes of alcoholics. Bark macerated in rum for a vermifuge. Bark is mixed with the macerated stem of Tinospora crispa in rum, cognac or absinthe for a beverage employed against diabetes and albuminuria. Chipped, soaked in wine or water, and the extract used to restore appetite and as a tonic to reduce blood sugar levels. In Surinam, stem is employed to make bitters for reducing a fever. Wood: Used for treatment of biliousness, malaria an sores in NW Guyana. Stem and Leaf: Decoction of bark and leaves used as a wash to rid skin of external parasites such as agouti lice. Infusion of bark and leaves for a febrifuge, bitter tonic and vermifuge; cholagogue. Boiled for a liquid bath to treat measles and smallpox in Guyana. Leaf: Crushed leaves placed on body reputedly act as a mosquito repellent. Used in treatment of fevers in NW Guyana. Leaf, Flower and Root: Infusion for a febrifuge in French Guiana. Flower: Infusion is drunk to alleviate a heavy feeling in stomach. Seed: Used for malaria in NW Guyana.
Quassia amara (Amargo, Bitter-ash, Bitter-wood) is a species in the genus Quassia, with some botanists treating it as the sole species in the genus. The genus was named by Carolus Linnaeus who named it after the first botanist to describe it: the Surinamese freedman Graman Quassi. Q. amara is used as insecticide, in traditional medicine and as additive in the food industry.
Contents
Morphology and Origin[edit]
It is a shrub or rarely a small tree, growing to 3 m tall (rarely 8 m). The leaves are compound and alternate, 15–25 cm long, and pinnate with 3-5 leaflets, the leaf rachis being winged. The flowers are produced in a panicle 15–25 cm long, each flower 2.5-3.5 cm long, bright red on the outside, and white inside. The fruit is a small drupe 1-1.5 cm long.
Q. amara is native to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Brasil, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname, Colombia, Argentina, French Guiana and Guyana. Q. amara is widely planted outside its native range.
Chemical composition[edit]
In the wood a share of 0.09 to 0.17% of quassin and 0.05 to 0.11% of neoquassin was detected in Costa Rician plants.[1] Quassin is one of the most bitter substances found in nature.
Other identified components of bitterwood are: beta-carbolines, beta-sitostenone, beta-sitosterol, dehydroquassins, gallic acid, gentisic acid, hydroxyquassins, isoparain, isoparaines, isoquassins, malic acid, methylcanthins, methoxycanthins, methoxycantins, nigakilactone A, nor-neoquassin, parain, paraines, quassialactol, quassimarin, quassinol, quassol and simalikalactone D.[2]
Uses[edit]
Insecticide[edit]
Extracts of Quassia wood or bark act as a natural insecticide. For organic farming this is of particular interest. A good protection was shown against different insect pests (e.g. aphids, Colorado potato beetle, Anthonomus pomorum, Rhagoletis cerasi, Caterpillars of Tortricidae).[3] Quassin extract works as a contact insecticide. Adverse effects on beneficial organisms were not found.[4]
For Switzerland, a licensed formulation is available for organic farming.
Potential Effects on Human Health[edit]
Like any poorly studied alternative chemical applied to food crops, Quassia extract may have unknown health consequences. A study on rats in 1997 found that Quassia extract significantly reduced their fertility, reducing testes size, sperm quality and serum testosterone.[5]
Formulation[edit]
Around 200 grams of Quassia wood chips are put together with 2 liters of water. It is allowed to stand for 24 hours and then it is cooked for 30 min. It is then diluted with 10 to 20 liters of water and used as a spray[3] The use of approximately 3-4.5 kg wood extract per hectare seems to be optimal to minimize the damage of Hoplocampa testudinea on apple trees.[6]
Medicine[edit]
Traditionally, Q. amara is used as a digestive, to treat fever, and against hair parasites (lice, fleas) and Mosquito larvae in ponds (and do not harm the fishes).[2]
The component Simalikalactone D was identified as an antimalarial. The preparation of a tea out of young leaves is used traditionally in French Guyana. Experiments showed a high inhibition of Plasmodium yoelii yoelii and Plasmodium falciparum.[7]
Other uses[edit]
Extracts of Q. amara wood or bark are also used to flavor soft drinks, aperitifs and bitters which can be added to cocktails or to baked goods.[1][2]
Cultivation[edit]
Seeds and cuttings can be used for propagation of Q. amara. Frost is not tolerated, but the plant is partially drought tolerant.[8] A large amount of indirect light is recommended.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Villalobos, R.; D. Marmillod; R. Ocampo (1997). "Variation in the quassin and neoquassin content in Quassia amara (Simaroubaceae) in Costa Rica: Ecological and management implications". Acta horticulturae 502. Retrieved 4.11.2012. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c "Amargo". Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 4.11.2012. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b "Quassia-Bitterholz". Ökologischer Landbau. Retrieved 3.11.2012. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ^ Eggler, B.D; Groß, A. (1996). "Quassia-Extrakte; Neue Erkenntnisse bei der Regulierung von Schadinsekten im Obstbau". Mittteilungen aus der Biologischen Bundesanstalt für Forst- und Landwirtschaft 321: 425. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help);|accessdate=requires|url=(help) - ^ Raji, Y; Bolarinwa AF (1997). "Antifertility activity of Quassia amara in male rats - in vivo study.". Life Sciences. doi:10.1016/S0024-3205(97)00615-2. PMID 9307052.
- ^ Psota, V.; J. Ourednickova; V. Falta (2010). "Control of Hoplocampa testudinea using the extract from Quassia amara in organic apple growing". Horticultural Science 37.
- ^ S. Bertani; E. Houël; D. Stien; L. Chevolot; V. Jullian; G. Garavito; G. Bourdy E. Deharo (2006). "Simalikalactone D is responsible for the antimalarial properties of an amazonian traditional remedy made with Quassia amara L. (Simaroubaceae)". Journal of Ethnopharmacology 106. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2006.04.017. Retrieved 4.11.2012. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Quassia amara". tropilab. Retrieved 3.11.2012. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ^ Claire, Daniel. "Agroecological Growth Patterns of Cultivated Bitterwood (Quassia amara) on the Northwestern Caribbean Slope of Costa Rica.". Retrieved 4 November 2012.
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