There are three types of opiate alkaloids. First, the poppy alkaloids: morphine, codeine, thebaine, noscapine and papaverine; then, the semi-synthetic and synthetic derivatives used in therapy as antitussives and analgesics, such as pholcodine, ethylmorphine and dextromethorphan; at last narcotic compounds, diacetylmorphine (heroin) and opiates employed as substitutes in treatment of addiction:...

Delphiniflexine, a new norditerpenoid alkaloid, together with the three known norditerpenoid alkaloids methyllycaconitine, ajadine, and acoseptrigenine were isolated from the aerial parts of Delphinium flexuosum. The structure of delphiniflexine was established on the basis of 1H, 13C, DEPT, homonuclear 1H COSY, NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC NMR studies.

A new quinolone alkaloid, megistolactone (1) was isolated from the bark of Sarcomelicope megistophylla. Its structure has been elucidated on the basis of MS and NMR data. From a biogenetic point of view, this compound should be considered as an oxidation product of 1,2,3,4-tetra-O-subsituted acridone alkaloids, which are also present in the bark.

The incorporation rates of labelled tyrosine, D O P A , tyramine, and dopamine have been inves­ tigated during the in vivo formation of the protoberberine alkaloid, jatrorrhizine, in callus cul­ tures o f Berberis canadensis. W hile tyrosine was equally well incorporated into both the isoquinoline (54% ) and benzyl (46% ) portions o f the alkaloid. D O PA was almost exclusively (91%) transforme...

Glaucium flavum Crantz is a medicinal plant species which contains high variety of isoquinoline alkaloids, the main alkaloid glaucine, possessing antitussive activity. In vitro cultivation was investigated as an alternative and sustainable approach for this characterized by decreasing distribution. The biotechnological production secondary metabolites could be improved addition elicitors such j...

Twenty-five methanol extracts obtained from various representatives of Papaveraceae and Berberidaceae botanical families (genera: Papaver, Argemone, Eschscholzia, Chelidonium, Glaucium, and Berberis) were screened for their alkaloid content in an optimized method suitable for the LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS analysis. Twelve pharmacologically important isoquinoline alkaloids from four groups, aporphines, be...

Different classes of known alkaloid compounds were identified for the first time in leaves and barks of Ficus benjamina L. from Moraceae family. The identification of 28 alkaloids in F. benjamina leaves and 14 alkaloids in its barks was identified using chromatographic analysis as Gas Chromatography associated to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). This characterization analysis allows to verifying the ...

Cissampelos capensis, commonly known by the Afrikaans name "dawidjies" or "dawidjieswortel", is the most important and best known medicinal plant of the family Menispermaceae used by the Khoisan and other rural people in the western region of South Africa. The main alkaloids in the leaves, stems and rhizomes were isolated and identified. Several of the main compounds were previously found in sp...

A series of Vinca alkaloids were found to block polymerization of crude tubulin extracts of porcine brain in a dose-dependent manner. This appears to be a specific effect occurring at low concentrations of drug. The concentration of vinblastine that prevents polymerization by 50% was 4.3 x 10(-7) mole/liter for a tubulin concentration of 3.0 mg/ml, and this concentration is consistent with leve...

Chemical analysis of the secondary metabolites of the Caribbean sponge Plakortis simplex, a source of many bioactive compounds, showed the presence of the new metabolite simplexidine (4), belonging to the extremely rare class of 4-alkyl-pyridinium alkaloids. The structural characterization of this molecule, based on spectroscopic methods, is reported.