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.

[1] 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.

[5] Quassinoids can also be extracted from various Simaroubaceae family species such as; Ailanthus excelsa,[6] Ailanthus vilmoriniana,[7] (the fruits of) Brucea javanica,[8] Hannoa klaineana,[9][10] Pierreodendron kerstingii,[11] Quassia africana,[12][13] Quassia amara,[14][15] (the wood of ) Picrasma ailanthoides,[16] Picrasma javanica,[17] Picrolemma pseudocoffea,[18] Simaba guianensis,[19] and Simaruba glauca.

[21] They are a biologically potent class of natural products, possessing antimalarial,[15][22] antifeedant,[23] insecticidal,[24] anti-inflammatory,[25] and anticancer (or anti-leukemic)[11][26][27] properties.

The quassinoid bruceantin reached two separate phase II clinical trials in 1982[28] and 1983.