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Quassin
Quassin is a white, bitter, crystalline substance that is the prototypical example of the family of quassinoids. It can be extracted from the quassia tree, from which it gets its name. It was first isolated in 1937 and its chemical structure was elucidated in 1961. It is one of the most bitter substances found in nature, with a bitter threshold of 0.08 ppm and it is 50 times more bitter than quinine.Scientific Committee on FooOpinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on quassin (expressed on 2 July 2002). SCF/CS/FLAV/FLAVOUR/29 Final Extracts of the bitterwood tree (''Quassia amara'') containing quassin are used as additives in soft drinks. Although its skeleton possesses 20 carbon atoms, quassin is not a diterpene but rather a triterpene lactone Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters, containing a 1-oxacycloalkan-2-one structure (), or analogues having unsaturation or heteroatoms replacing one or more carbon atoms of the ring. Lactones are formed by intramolecular esterific ...
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Quassia Amara
''Quassia amara'', also known as amargo, bitter-ash, bitter-wood, or hombre grande (spanish for ''big man'') is a species in the genus ''Quassia'', with some botanists treating it as the sole species in the genus. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus who named it after the first botanist to describe it: the Surinamese freedman Graman Quassi. ''Q. amara'' is used as insecticide, in traditional medicine and as additive in the food industry. Name, image, harvested organ ''Quassia'' (genus) ''amara'' (species) is an attractive small evergreen shrub or tree from the tropics and belongs to the family ''Simaroubaceae''. ''Q. amara'' was named after called Graman Quassi, and enslaved healer and botanist who showed Europeans the plant's fever treating uses. The name "amara" means "bitter" in Latin and describes its very bitter taste. ''Q. amara'' contents more than thirty phytochemicals with biological activities in its tissues including the very bitter compound quassin. Therefore, it i ...
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Quassinoid
Quassinoids are degraded triterpene lactones (similar to limonoids) of the Simaroubaceae plant family grouped into C-18, C-19, C-20, C-22 and C-25 types. The prototypical member of the group, quassin, was first described in the 19th century from plants of the genus '' Quassia'' from which it gets its name. It was isolated in 1937 and its structure elucidated in 1961. They are a biologically potent class of natural products, possessing antimalarial, antifeedant, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The quassinoid bruceantin reached two separate phase II clinical trials in 1982 and 1983. Other quassinoids include: * Bruceanols * Bruceolide * Eurycomanone * Gutolactone Gutolactone is a chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule c ... * Isobrucein A * Neoquassin * Nigakihe ...
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Quassia
''Quassia'' ( or ) is a plant genus in the family Simaroubaceae. Its size is disputed; some botanists treat it as consisting of only one species, ''Quassia amara'' from tropical South America, while others treat it in a wide circumscription as a pantropical genus containing up to 40 species of trees and shrubs. The genus was named after a former slave from Suriname, Graman Quassi in the eighteenth century. He discovered the medicinal properties of the bark of ''Quassia amara''. Distribution Members of the genus are found in the Tropics throughout the world. Countries and regions where species are native include: Andaman Islands, Angola, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, North and Northeast Brazil, Burkina, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Islands, Honduras, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, L ...
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Quinine
Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cramps, quinine is not recommended for this purpose due to the risk of serious side effects. It can be taken by mouth or intravenously. Malaria resistance to quinine occurs in certain areas of the world. Quinine is also used as an ingredient in tonic water to impart a bitter taste. Common side effects include headache, ringing in the ears, vision issues, and sweating. More severe side effects include deafness, low blood platelets, and an irregular heartbeat. Use can make one more prone to sunburn. While it is unclear if use during pregnancy causes harm to the baby, treating malaria during pregnancy with quinine when appropriate is still recommended. Quinine is an alkaloid, a naturally occurring chemical compound. How it works as a medicin ...
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Soft Drink
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute (in the case of ''diet drinks''), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives, and/or other ingredients. Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink in many countries and localities See §7.71, paragraphs (e) and (f). if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Types of soft drinks include lemon-lime drinks, orange soda, cola, grape soda, ginger ale, and root beer. Soft drinks may be served cold, over ice cubes, or at room temperature. They are available in many container formats, including cans, glass bot ...
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Diterpene
Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being a primary intermediate. Diterpenes form the basis for biologically important compounds such as retinol, retinal, and phytol. They are known to be antimicrobial and antiinflammatory. Structures As with most terpenes a huge number of potential structures exists, which may be broadly divided according to the number of rings present. Biosynthesis Diterpenes are derived from the addition of one IPP unit to FPP to form geranylgeranyl-pyrophosphate (GGPP). From GGPP, structural diversity is achieved mainly by two classes of enzymes; the diterpene synthases and cytochromes P450. Several diterpenes are produced by plants and cyanobacteria. GGPP is also the precursor for the synthesis of the phytane by the action of the enzyme geranylger ...
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Triterpene
Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squalene, the precursor to all steroids. Structures Triterpenes exist in a great variety of structures. Nearly 200 different skeletons have been identified. These skeletons may be broadly divided according to the number of rings present. In general pentacyclic structures (5 rings) tend to dominate. Squalene is biosynthesized through the head-to-head condensation of two farnesyl pyrophosphate units. This coupling converts a pair of C15 components into a C30 product. Squalene serves as precursor for the formation of many triterpenoids, including bacterial hopanoids and eukaryotic sterols. Triterpenoids By definition triterpenoids are triterpenes that possess heteroatoms, usually oxygen. The terms ''triterpene'' and ''triterpenoid'' oft ...
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Lactone
Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters, containing a 1-oxacycloalkan-2-one structure (), or analogues having unsaturation or heteroatoms replacing one or more carbon atoms of the ring. Lactones are formed by intramolecular esterification of the corresponding hydroxycarboxylic acids, which takes place spontaneously when the ring that is formed is five- or six-membered. Lactones with three- or four-membered rings (α-lactones and β-lactones) are very reactive, making their isolation difficult. Special methods are normally required for the laboratory synthesis of small-ring lactones as well as those that contain rings larger than six-membered. Nomenclature Lactones are usually named according to the precursor acid molecule (''aceto'' = 2 carbon atoms, ''propio'' = 3, ''butyro'' = 4, ''valero'' = 5, ''capro'' = 6, etc.), with a ''-lactone'' suffix and a Greek letter prefix that specifies the number of carbon atoms in the heterocycle — that is, the distance between the relevant -OH ...
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InChI
The International Chemical Identifier (InChI or ) is a textual identifier for chemical substances, designed to provide a standard way to encode molecular information and to facilitate the search for such information in databases and on the web. Initially developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from 2000 to 2005, the format and algorithms are non-proprietary. Since May 2009, it has been developed by the InChI Trust, a nonprofit charity from the United Kingdom which works to implement and promote the use of InChI. The identifiers describe chemical substances in terms of ''layers'' of information — the atoms and their bond connectivity, tautomeric information, isotope information, stereochemistry, and electronic charge information. Not all layers have to be provided; for instance, the tautomer layer can be omitted if that type of information is not relevant to the particular applica ...
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Bitter Compounds
Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * ''Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 novel by Akwaeke Emezi. Food and drink * Bitter (beer), a British term for pale ale * Bitters, an herbal preparation now used mostly in cocktails Music Albums * ''Bitter'' (Jupiter Apple album), 2007 * ''Bitter'' (Meshell Ndegeocello album), 1999 Songs * "Bitter" (Fletcher song), 2020 * “Bitter” song by The Vamps from Cherry Blossom * "Bitter", 1997 single by Lit from '' Tripping the Light Fantastic'' * "Bitter", song by Jill Sobule from her 1997 album '' Happy Town'' * "Bitter", single by New Zealand band Shihad * "Bitter", song by Remy Zero from ''The Golden Hum'' * "Bitter", song by Reks from ''More Grey Hairs'' Other uses * Bitter (surname) (including a list of persons with the name) * Bitter Cars, a German car company See also * ...
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Ethers
In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be classified into two varieties: if the alkyl or aryl groups are the same on both sides of the oxygen atom, then it is a simple or symmetrical ether, whereas if they are different, the ethers are called mixed or unsymmetrical ethers. A typical example of the first group is the solvent and anaesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether" (). Ethers are common in organic chemistry and even more prevalent in biochemistry, as they are common linkages in carbohydrates and lignin. Structure and bonding Ethers feature bent C–O–C linkages. In dimethyl ether, the bond angle is 111° and C–O distances are 141  pm. The barrier to rotation about the C–O bonds is low. The bonding of oxygen in ethers, alcohols, and water is ...
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