|Quassia amara from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887)|
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.
Morphology and Origin
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.
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.
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). Quassin extract works as a contact insecticide. Adverse effects on beneficial organisms were not found.
Potential Effects on Human Health
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.
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 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.
The component Simalikalactone D was identified as an antimalarial. The preparation of a tea out of young leafs is used traditionally in French Guyana. Experiments showed a high inhibition of Plasmodium yoelii yoelii and Plasmodium falciparum.
- 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:
- "Amargo". Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 4.11.2012. Check date values in:
- "Quassia-Bitterholz". Ökologischer Landbau. Retrieved 3.11.2012. Check date values in:
- 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:
- 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:
- "Quassia amara". tropilab. Retrieved 3.11.2012. Check date values in:
- Claire, Daniel. "Agroecological Growth Patterns of Cultivated Bitterwood (Quassia amara) on the Northwestern Caribbean Slope of Costa Rica.". Retrieved 4 November 2012.