quassin 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. quassin names iupac name 2,12-dimethoxypicrasa-2,12-diene-1,11,16-trione systematic iupac name (3ar,3a1s,6ar,7as,8s,11as,11bs)-2,10-dimethoxy-3,3a1,8,11a-tetramethyl-3a,3a1,6a,7,7a,8,11a,11b-octahydrophenanthropyran-1,5,11(4h)-trione identifiers cas number 76-78-8 y 3d model (jsmol) interactive image chembl chembl517016 y chemspider 59014 y echa infocard 100.000.897 ec number 200-985-9 pubchem cid 65571 unii qp1yak6qgk y comptox dashboard (epa) dtxsid30878613 inchi inchi=1s/c22h28o6/c1-10-7-14(26-5)20(25)22(4)12(10)8-15-21(3)13(9-16(23)28-15)11(2)18(27-6)17(24)19(21)22/h7,10,12-13,15,19h,8-9h2,1-6h3/t10-,12+,13+,15-,19+,21-,22+/m1/s1 y= ykey: iosxsvzrtuwbhc-lbtvdekvsa-n y= ykey: iosxsvzrtuwbhc-lbtvdekvbbinchi=1/c22h28o6/c1-10-7-14(26-5)20(25)22(4)12(10)8-15-21(3)13(9-16(23)28-15)11(2)18(27-6)17(24)19(21)22/h7,10,12-13,15,19h,8-9h2,1-6h3/t10-,12+,13+,15-,19+,21-,22+/m1/s1key: iosxsvzrtuwbhc-lbtvdekvbb smiles o=c1c(\oc)=c/(c)41(3c(=o)c(\oc)=c(/2cc(=o)o(23c)c4)c)c properties chemical formula c22h28o6 molar mass 388.460 g·mol−1 appearance white crystalline substance melting point 200 to 222 °c (392 to 432 °f; 473 to 495 k) boiling point 586 °c (1,087 °f; 859 k) solubility in water insoluble vapor pressure 13 mmhg (@25 °c) except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °c , 100 kpa). n verify (what is yn ?) infobox references 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, which derives from euphol by loss of 10 carbon atoms including c4.