Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Quassia amara
Also known as Bitterwood, Amargo, Surinam Quassia
Pronounced Quassia: KWAH-see-uh (also KWASH-ee-uh). Quassia amara: KWAH-see-uh uh-MAR-uh.
Cold, dry, and among the most intensely bitter of woods: a pure-bitter spark that rekindles a torpid, atonic stomach and scours the gut of worms.
Avoid. Rated likely unsafe taken by mouth in pregnancy (cytotoxic and emetic, with documented reproductive toxicity in animals). Do not use internally during pregnancy. (RxList/WebMD - Quassia; Drugs.com Natural Products - Quassia.)
Avoid. Rated likely unsafe orally during breastfeeding; cytotoxic potential and insufficient safety data. (RxList/WebMD - Quassia; Drugs.com Natural Products - Quassia.)
Topical and retention-enema use for pinworm has a long traditional history in children, but internal medicinal use should be practitioner-supervised and kept to small bitter doses; larger doses are emetic. Avoid concentrated extracts in young children. (Traditional use; modern pediatric dosing data limited.)
A pure, intense bitter: small doses stimulate, but doses beyond the bitter range irritate the stomach and provoke nausea and vomiting. Prolonged use deranges digestion and has been associated with visual disturbance. Reversible antifertility effects (reduced testosterone, LH, FSH, and sperm counts) are documented in male animals, so men seeking conception should avoid it. Parenteral or very large doses of quassin are cardiotoxic.
Pregnancy and lactation (see safety fields); active peptic ulcer, gastritis, or reflux; cardiac arrhythmia; concurrent digoxin, potassium-depleting diuretics, or antiarrhythmic/anticoagulant therapy without supervision; men actively trying to father a child.
Quassia amara is widely cultivated across tropical America and is not listed as at-risk by United Plant Savers (which tracks North American natives). It is nonetheless a slow-growing tropical hardwood harvested for its wood; favor cultivated or agroforestry-sourced material and reputable suppliers over wild-cut logs. Jamaica quassia (Picrasma excelsa) is a distinct, wild-harvested substitute.
Not in canonical biblical texts. Quassia amara is native to tropical South America (Surinam, Guyana, Panama, northern Brazil). The genus honors Graman Quassi, an enslaved Surinamese healer who in the 1730s made known the wood's use in fevers; Linnaeus named the genus Quassia in his honor in 1762. A New World bitter, not a Mediterranean or scriptural herb.
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