Quassia

Quassia (Quassia), a plant of the Simarubaceae family, known in 2 species: 1) Quassia amara L. (Surinam quassia; northern Brazil) and 2) Picrasma excelsa Planch. (Jamaica). Quassia is a small tree or shrub with bright red flowers. Its fruit is a drupe. The wood of Quassia—Lignum Quassiae—is light, white, brittle, and has a bitter taste due to a series of bitter substances, among which quassin and neolignan have been isolated. Quassin, C₁₀H₁₃O₃, is a substance poorly soluble in alcohol and better in water, contained in Surinam quassia up to 0.25%, and in Jamaican quassia—about 0.07%. The ash content in Surinam quassia is 3-4%, in Jamaican—up to 8%. Decoctions of quassia act as a paralytic agent on flies and other insects, for which reason they are sometimes used to prepare 'fly paper.'—Quassia is prescribed almost exclusively as a bitter characteristic of the amara pura group. Lignum or Cortex Quassiae is used in the form of infusions and decoctions from 2.0-5.0 to 200.0; more often, however—in the form of extract 0.2-0.5 or tincture 20-30 drops, several times a day. Crystalline quassin is prescribed in doses of 0.002-0.02, amorphous quassin in doses of 0.10-0.15. The use of quassia in medicine is rather limited, as it has no advantages over other bitters (see Bitters).