Quassia Extract – Everything you need to know!
Ransom Naturals Ltd Quassia Extracts are produced from the dried stem wood of Picrasma excelsa (Sw.) Planch, also known as Bitter Wood or Jamaica Quassia. They contain quassinoids which produce a bitter sensation without any other typical herbal flavours.
Quassia wood, which can be harvested all year round, has long being valued for its therapeutic properties, including use as a tonic, bitter, stomachic, anthelmintic, febrifuge and antimalarial. P. excelsa is a tree which grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome, being native to the West Indies, Costa Rica, El Salvadore, Ecuador and Venezuela. Ransom Naturals Ltd typically use material wild harvested in Jamaica.
Quassia extracts can also be produced from Quassia amara L., a shrub or small tree which grows in similar conditions from Central Mexico to tropical South America and Guadalupe.
Quassia Extract is renowned for its intense, clean bitterness, and is commonly used as a bittering agent in a range of products:
- Bitters and Aperitifs: To contribute to the complex bitter flavour profile.
- Quinine Substitute: Bitter flavouring substitute for quinine.
- Tonic Waters: Used in craft or premium tonic waters to enhance bitterness without exceeding the legal threshold for quinine alkaloids.
- Herbal Digestifs: Used in various herbal liqueurs and digestifs for its clean bitter profile.
The bitterness of quassia is due to the quassinoids, which are degraded triterpenoids. They are typically present at levels of up to 0.25 %w/w in the wood. The principal quassinoids found are quassin, isoquassin, neoquassin, and 18-hydroxyquassin. Quassin, with a bitterness threshold of 0.06 ppm, is one of the bitterest substances known, and is 50 times more bitter than quinine.
Ransom Naturals Ltd produce Extract of Quassia, RNL code QU/07, which is an aqueous soft extract prepared from P. excelsa and standardardised to contain 1.3 – 1.7 %w/w total quassinoids, expressed as quassin. Although based on a historical pharmaceutical formulation, this material is also suitable for use as a food ingredient. As a highly concentrated source of quassinoids it is commonly used in formulation by flavour houses.
Ransom Naturals Ltd also manufacture Quassia Strong Infusion, RNL code QU/06, containing 0.02 – 0.03 %w/v total quassinoids. This is a hydroethanolic infusion which can be added directly to beverage formulations to provide a concentrated source of clean bitterness.
The Council of Europe has approved the use of quassia extract derived from both P. excelsa (CoE No. 2092) and Q. amara (CoE No. 332) as a natural flavouring for use in a variety of foodstuffs, with control on the maximum levels of quassin in the finished food (see EU Regulation No. 1334/2008, Annex III Part B).
Contact us to discuss your needs: Getintouch@ransomnaturals.com