@article{fdi:010037923,
  title = {{F}rom {T}onic-cups to {B}itter-cups : {K}wasi bita beker from {S}uriname {D}etermination, past and present use of an ancient galenic artefact},
  author = {{O}donne, {G}uillaume and {B}ourdy, {G}enevi{\`e}ve and {B}eauchene, {J}. and {H}ouel, {E}. and {S}tien, {D}. and {C}hevolot, {L}. and {D}eharo, {E}ric},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n the main markets of {P}aramaribo ({S}uriname), many stands offer what is locally called "{B}itter-cups", or "{K}wasi bita beker", small footed-cups, roughly carved from a whitish wood. {T}he use of these cups is strictly medicinal and it seems to be restricted to {S}uriname, as they are not found in neighbouring countries ({G}uyana, {F}rench {G}uiana). {T}he aim of this study was to identify the botanical origin of {B}itter-cups still in use in the {S}aramaka traditional medicine (as information from field people was controversial), and document the ethnopharmacology of this original galenical artefact. {M}icroscopic and high performance liquid chromatography ({HPLC}) analyses were carried out on {B}itter-cup, and anatomical criteria (marginal parenchyma band, size of intervessel and vessel-ray pits, rays width and rays composition, vessels clustering, frequency and size of parenchyma pits) together with {HPLC} profiles of the macerates showed that the wood cup was similar to {Q}uassia amara {L}. ({S}imaroubaceae) wood. {E}thnopharmacological investigation indicates that the use of these cups is simply due to the pharmacological properties attributed to "bitters", and is strongly linked to tradition and cultural attitudes. {T}his study also emphasizes the long lasting use of these cups, now restricted to {S}uriname only, with almost no variation over one century.},
  keywords = {{T}onic cup ; {B}itter cup ; {Q}uassia amara ; {S}uriname ; traditional remedy},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {E}thnopharmacology},
  volume = {110},
  numero = {2},
  pages = {318--322},
  ISSN = {0378-8741},
  year = {2007},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.jep.2006.09.045},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010037923},
}