Quassia amara
Made from quassia wood — the bitterest drug of the old pharmacopeias, a genuine digestive tonic and vermifuge, and the classical remedy of the appetite-less dyspepsia.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of a stomach that has forgotten its work: no appetite, food tasteless, the dyspepsia of the debilitated with gas and uneasiness after every meal, and the books' great bitter of the appetite-less. The appetite-forgotten remedy: that is Quassia.
The substance, in plain words
Quassia is the wood of the Surinam quassia tree — the bitterest substance in the old pharmacopeia, so bitter that a chip in water flavours the whole glass. It was a genuine official tonic and vermifuge of the old dispensaries, and its quassin chemistry is genuinely the standard of bitterness. The proving gave the wood its dyspepsia portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the appetite, the debility, the wasting — worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant digestive uneasiness.
- Despondency. Gloomy in the chronically dyspeptic states.
The body
- Appetite forgotten. The keynote: no desire for food, taste dull or perverted, the appetite simply gone.
- Dyspepsia with gas. The uneasy, fermenting digestion after every meal — the books' debilitated dyspepsia.
- Vermifuge tradition. The wood's ancient second career — the books record it among the worm remedies.
- Liver torpidity. The books pair it with the sluggish, torpid liver of the tonic shelf.
- Worse eating and cold damp. Food restarts the uneasiness; wet weather deepens the dyspepsia.
- Better for rest and the bitter itself. Rest and the stomach's slow toning ease the state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| eating; cold damp weather; night; rich food. | rest; the bitter tonic; simple food. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Stomach and digestion, liver, appetite, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The bitterest wood's proving gave the appetite-forgotten portrait; Quassia became the classical remedy of the dyspepsia without appetite — the wood so bitter it flavours water serving the stomach that had forgotten its work.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Quassia is genuinely the standard of bitterness — quassin is the reference molecule against which other bitters are measured — and the wood was a real, official tonic and vermifuge of the old pharmacopeias, retired as modern gastroenterology arrived. Its chemistry is real, its career honourable, its bitterness legendary.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrastis canadensis | Weak digestion, torpid membranes | Hydrastis is ropy and torpid with debility; Quassia is the appetite-less bitter tonic. |
| Pepsinum | Weak stomach | Pepsin is the enzyme-weak, sour-sitting stomach; Quassia the appetite-forgotten one. |
| Nux vomica | Dyspepsia, irritability | Nux is fiery and spasmodic; Quassia is the debilitated, appetite-less one. |
| Cina maritima | Worms | Cina is the cross, grinding worm-child; Quassia the bitter vermifuge of the tonic shelf. |