Tinkturenpresse

Simarouba amara Aubl. - syn. Quassia simarouba L. - Simaroubaceae
bitterwood, arubá (port.), marupá (port., span.)
Not to be confused with Quassia amara L. and Simarouba glauca DC. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?33956

Dioecious tree, up to 30m tall, native to the Caribbean and Central America, South America; leaves pinnate, leathery; flowers pale greenish-yellow, small, inflorescence a panicle; fruits ovoid, yellow, up to 2m long. http://www.tropicos.org/Name/29400090?projectid=7

Simarouba amara is frequently confused with two other continental species of the neotropical genus, S.glauca and S.versicolor. S.amara flowers are smaller (3-5mm/4-7mm) and the petals paler than from S.glauca.
[Distinctions among three Simarouba species., Franceschinelli, E.V., Yamamoto, K., Shepherd, G.J., Systematic botany, 1998, 479-488]

„Extracts prepared from Simarouba amara fruits collected in Panama have been found to be active against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro and against Plasmodium berghei in mice. Four active quassinoids have been identified as ailanthinone, 2'-acetylglaucarubinone, glaucarubinone and holacanthone.“
[O'Neill, M. J., Bray, D. H., Boardman, P., Wright, C. W., Phillipson, J. D., Warhurst, D. C., … & Solis, P. (1988). Plants as sources of antimalarial drugs, Part 6: Activities of Simarouba amara fruits. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 22(2), 183-190.]

„… four quassinoids from S.amara had significant anti-amoebic activity, with ailanthinone being twice as potent as the others.“
[Use of microdilution to assess in vitro antiamoebic activities of Brucea javanica fruits, Simarouba amara stem, and a number of quassinoids., Wright, C.W., O'Neill, M.J., Phillipson, J.D., Warhurst, D.C., Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 32(11), 1988, 1725-1729] http://aac.asm.org/content/32/11/1725.full.pdf

„Simarouba amara stem bark decoction has been traditionally used in Brazil to treat malaria, inflammation, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, wounds and as a tonic… SAAE [S. amara stem bark extract] has significant hepatoprotective effect on acute liver injury induced by CCl4. It might be postulated that its hepatoprotective action may be due to its inhibitory action on free radical formation by catechins as evident by the recovery of the antioxidant enzymes and by the decreased lipid peroxidation. The decreased biochemical parameters and PCNA immunoreactivity suggest that SAAE protects the hepatocyte against structural and functional damages by maintaining its integrity as well as increasing hepatocellular proliferation.“
[Hepatoprotective effect of the aqueous extract of Simarouba amara Aublet (Simaroubaceae) stem bark against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic damage in rats., Maranhão, H.M., Vasconcelos, C.F., Rolim, L.A., Neto, P.J.R., Neto, J.D.C.S., Fernandes, M.P., Wanderley, A.G., Molecules, 19(11), 2014, 17735-17746] http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/19/11/17735/htm