Detection and identification of loline and its analogues in horse urine

Several kinds of loline-type alkaloids, norloline, loline, N-acetylnorloline, N-acetylloline, N-formylnorloline, N-formylloline and N-methylloline were detected in the urine of race-horses. Furthermore, a new compound of the alkaloids, N-senecioylnorloline, was also found and identified. These compounds were mainly identified by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-fourier transform-infrared spectrometry (GC-FT-IR). A certain plant of Gramineae containing four kinds of loline-type alkaloids was found in a bale of hay used for the horse forage. The taxonomic feature of the plant was different from known plants containing loline-type alkaloids. The common fragmentation of loline-type alkaloids under electron ionization was briefly discussed.     

Alkaloids ofColchicum luteum

The paper gives a review of the alkaloids ofColchium luteum Baker from various growth sites. The structure of luteidine — one of the main alkaloids of the plant — has been established. In addition, two new alkaloids have been isolated from the plant and the structure of one of them has been established as collutine N-oxide.     

Indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids

This review covers the isolation, structure determination, synthesis, chemical transformations and biological activity of indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids from microbial, plant and animal sources. Included in the review are the hydroxylated indolizidines lentiginosine, swainsonine, castanospermine and their analogues; alkaloids from animal sources, including ants, amphibians and beetles; ipalbidine, phenanthroindolizidines and related alkaloids; Lycopodium alkaloids; lupine alkaloids; and alkaloids from bacterial and marine sources. The literature from July 2002 to June 2003 is reviewed, and 174 references are cited.     

Alkaloids ofLiriodendron tulipifera

The alkaloids of the tulip treeLiriodendron tulipifera L., family Magnoliaceae, are considered. More then 20 alkaloids have been isolated during different vegetation periods from various organs of the plant growing in Uzbekistan, and these have been assigned to the aporphine alkaloids and their dehydro, oxo, and 7-hydroxy derivatives; only two alkaloids proved to be derivatives of proaphorphine and of tetrahydroberberine. On the basis of the results of a comparative study of the NMR spectra of aporphines unsubstituted in ring D and some chemical transformations, the structure and configuration of the (R)-3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethoxyaporphine have been proposed for the new alkaloid lirinine. The absolute configurations, possible biogenetic interconnections, and mutual transitions of the alkaloids ofL. tylipifera that are derivatives of aporphine, oxoaporphine, and dehydroaporphine are discussed. A summery table is given which includes 41 alkaloids found in this plant.     

Indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids

This review covers the isolation, structure determination, synthesis and biological activity of indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids from microbial, plant and animal sources. Included in the review are slaframine; hydroxylated indolizidines and their analogues; alkaloids from ants and amphibians; metabolites of the genera Prosopis, Streptomyces and Nuphar and the Lythraceae; phenanthroindolizidines and related alkaloids; lupin alkaloids; and alkaloids from sponges. tunicates and coccinellid beetles. The literature from July 2000 to June 2001 is reviewed, and 172 references are cited.     

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry method for relative and absolute quantification of steroidal alkaloids in Fritillaria species

Steroidal alkaloids are naturally occurring nitrogen-containing compounds in many edible or medicinal plants, such as potato, tomato, Fritillaria and American hellebore, which possess a variety of toxicological and pharmacological effects on humans. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-TOF-MS) method in the determination of these important alkaloids in plant matrices. The application of this method has been proven through 26 naturally occurring steroidal alkaloids in Fritillaria species. Accurate mass measurements within 4 ppm error were obtained for all the alkaloids detected out of various plant matrices, which allowed an unequivocal identification of the target steroidal alkaloids. The bunching factor for mass spectrometer, an important parameter significantly affecting the precision and accuracy of quantitative method, was firstly optimized in this work and satisfactory precision and linearity were achieved by the optimization of that parameter. The ranges of RSD values of intra-day and inter-day variability for all alkaloids were decreased remarkably from 41.8-159% and 13.2-140% to 0.32-7.98% and 2.37-16.1%, respectively, when the value of bunching factor was optimized from 1 to 3. Linearity of response more than two orders of magnitude was also demonstrated (regression coefficient >0.99). The LC/TOF-MS detection method offered improvements to the sensitivity, compared with previously applied LC (or GC) methods, with limits of detection down to 0.0014-0.0335 microg/ml. The results in this paper illustrate the robustness and applicability of LC/TOF-MS for steroidal alkaloids analysis in plant samples. In addition, relative quantitative determination of steroidal alkaloid with one popular analyte verticinone which is commercially available was also investigated in order to break through the choke point of lack of standards in phytochemical analysis. The accuracies of relative quantitative method for steroidal alkaloids determinations with verticinone were 90.6-110.0% (average 98.5%) suggesting that it is feasible to quantify steroidal alkaloids by the proposed relative quantitative determination method within acceptable errors.     

Characterization of the variation in the imidazole alkaloid profile of Pilocarpus microphyllus in different seasons and parts of the plant by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting and identification of novel alkaloids by tandem mass spectrometry

Pilocarpus microphyllus (Rutaceae), popularly known as jaborandi, is the only commercial source of an imidazole alkaloid named pilocarpine. In the present study, the variation in the profile of imidazole alkaloids in different seasons and in different parts of the P. microphyllus plant during the summer was analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode [ESI(+)-MS]. The fingerprints of these extracts repeatedly presented similar ions which were mass-selected and studied by tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS and ESI-MS/MS/MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry, resulting in the characterization of eight imidazole alkaloids. The data from the ESI(+)-MS fingerprints were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA), showing that pilocarpine was present mainly in the summer, whereas in the autumn mainly pilosine and winter anhydropilosine were found. Three alkaloids, reported for the first time in extracts of P. microphyllus, were found. Analysis of the distribution of alkaloids in different parts of the plant during the summer showed that, although pilocarpine was present throughout the plant, 13-nor-8(11)-dihydropilocarpine was found mainly in the stem, pilosine and anhydropilosine were present mainly in the intermediary leaves, and the three new alkaloids were mainly found in the leaflets and petioles. Based on the dissociation patterns of these alkaloids, we observed that there were three structurally related groups of alkaloids differing in their distribution in the plant tissues and responding differently to seasonal variations. These results also indicate that these three groups of alkaloids could belong to intermediate, parallel or competitive pathways for pilocarpine formation biosynthesis.     

Indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids

This review covers the isolation, structure determination, synthesis, chemical transformations and biological activity of indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids from microbial, plant and animal sources. Included in the review are slaframine; the hydroxylated indolizidines lentiginosine, swainsonine, castanospermine and their analogues; alkaloids from amphibians and marine sources; plumerinine; ipalbidine, phenanthroindolizidines and related alkaloids; lasubine-II: and lupin alkaloids. The literature from July 2001 to June 2002 is reviewed, and 142 references are cited.     

Characterization of tropane and cinnamamide alkaloids from Scopolia tangutica by high‐performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry

Scopolia tangutica is a traditional Chinese medicine used for antispasmodic, anesthesia, analgesia, and sedation. Its medicinal activity is associated to alkaloid constituents, including tropane and cinnamamide types. Low content of alkaloids in plant makes them difficult to be isolated and identified. The present work developed an effective method to quickly characterize alkaloids from Scopolia tangutica by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry. Thirteen reference compounds were studied for their fragmentation pathways, including five tropane alkaloids and eight cinnamamide ones. Alkaloid constituent was analyzed by an optimized high‐performance liquid chromatography method and mass spectrometry analysis to achieve systematic characterization of alkaloids from Scopolia tangutica. As a result, 53 compounds were identified, including 21 tropane alkaloids (eight new ones), 18 caffeoyl ones (ten new ones) and 14 dicaffeoyl ones (seven new ones). It was important to provide rich information in phytochemical study and structure‐guided isolation of important compounds from this plant.     

Indole alkaloids from camptotheca acuminata

Five minor alkaloids were isolated from the seeds of Camptotheca acuminata Decne. Two of them are new indole alkaloids named camptacumotine (1) and camptacumanine (2) respectively. The others are known indole alkaloids naucleficine (3), angustoline (4) and dihydroisoquinamine (5), which was isolated for the first time from the plant.     

Norditerpenoid alkaloids from the processed tubers of Aconitum carmichaeli

Four new and five known norditerpenoid alkaloids were isolated from the processed tubers of Aconitum carmichaeli. The new alkaloids are 14-O-cinnamoylneoline (3), 14-O-anisoylneoline (4) 14-O-veratroylneoline (5), and lipo-14-O-anisoylbikhaconine (8). The known alkaloids are neoline (1), 14-O-acetylneoline (2), foresaconitine (6), crassicauline A (7), and lipohypaconitine (9). Alkaloids 2, 6, and 7 were isolated from this plant for the first time. The structures of the new alkaloids were established by spectroscopic and chemical methods.     

Spectrophotometric method for estimation of alkaloids precipitable with Dragendorff's reagent in plant materials

A rapid, easy, and simple spectrophotometric method was developed for the estimation of total alkaloids precipitated by Dragendorff's reagent (DR) in plant materials. It is based on the formation of yellow bismuth complex in nitric acid medium with thiourea. The yellow-colored complex formed obeys Lambert-Beer's law in the concentration range of 0.06-50 microg/mL with lambdamax at 435 nm. Using this method, the alkaloidal percentage of certain alkaloids (ajamalicine, papaverine, cinchonine, piperine, berberine) and some plant materials containing alkaloids (Berberis aristata, Solanum nigrum, and Piper longum) were determined. The method was compared with other methods. It can be used for routine analysis of commercial samples by industries dealing with herbal drugs for standardization of plant materials containing alkaloids and for alkaloid-containing pharmaceutical products.     

Seasonal variation in alkaloid composition and antiproliferative activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stylophorum lasiocarpum</Emphasis> (Oliv.) Fedde

Stylophorum lasiocarpum (Oliv.) Fedde (Papaveraceae) belongs to traditional Chinese medicine herbs but there was minimal information on the content of alkaloids in this plant. Extracts from the aerial part and roots were examined by liquid chromatography with UV and mass spectrometric detection, with nineteen alkaloids identified. Changes in alkaloid content over the entire vegetation period of a one- and two-year old plant were studied. The protoberberine alkaloids, coptisine and stylopine, were found to be the main substances in extracts of the aerial part irrespective of the plant’s age and time of harvest. Variable amounts of protopine, sanguinarine, chelerythrine, chelirubine, macarpine, chelilutine and berberine were also recorded in the aerial part. The roots contained significantly larger quantities of all alkaloids than the aerial part with the levels of most alkaloids varying from May to October, peaking in the middle of the vegetation period. Coptisine was the dominant alkaloid in all samples. The antiproliferative activities of the root extract and of seven individual alkaloids were tested on A375 human malignant melanoma cells. The significant dose-dependent toxicity of the root extract was attributed largely to the quaternary benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids, macarpine and sanguinarine.     

Alkaloids ofLiriodendron tulipifera

The alkaloids of the tulip treeLiriodendron tulipifera L., family Magnoliaceae, are considered. More then 20 alkaloids have been isolated during different vegetation periods from various organs of the plant growing in Uzbekistan, and these have been assigned to the aporphine alkaloids and their dehydro, oxo, and 7-hydroxy derivatives; only two alkaloids proved to be derivatives of proaphorphine and of tetrahydroberberine. On the basis of the results of a comparative study of the NMR spectra of aporphines unsubstituted in ring D and some chemical transformations, the structure and configuration of the (R)-3-hydroxy-1,2-dimethoxyaporphine have been proposed for the new alkaloid lirinine. The absolute configurations, possible biogenetic interconnections, and mutual transitions of the alkaloids ofL. tylipifera that are derivatives of aporphine, oxoaporphine, and dehydroaporphine are discussed. A summery table is given which includes 41 alkaloids found in this plant.Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances of the Uzbek SSR, Academy of Sciences, Tashkent. Tashkent Agricultural Institute. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedenii, No. 5, pp. 628–638, September–October, 1987.     

Rigorous biogenetic network for a group of indole alkaloids derived from strictosidine

Strictosidine, the precursor of more than 2,500 indole alkaloids, was isolated from four species of three plant families. By searching the Dictionary of Natural Products on DVD it was found that about 150 indole alkaloids were obtained from the same species (coalkaloids), which is a direct proof of their common origin. On the base of their three-dimensional structure, taxonomic properties and standard reaction mechanisms an extended network was established which involved the four fundamental skeletons, the three types of carbon framework in the secologanin subunit and all major groups of indole alkaloids derived from secologanin and tryptamine (except a few minor groups, in which only less then 10 alkaloids were known). The system was extended to the heterodimer indole alkaloids and the quinoindole alkaloids as well.     

Amaryllidaceae,sceletium, imidazole,oxazole, thiazole,peptide and miscellaneous alkaloids

This review covers alkaloids classified in the plant families Amaryallidaceae and Sceletium. In addition alkaloids possessing imidazole, oxazole and thiazole structures are listed followed by alkaloids possessing peptide linkages. Finally miscellaneous alkaloids include those compounds found naturally which cannot be classified into known groups; a relative Pandora's box. A total of 620 structures has been reviewed from 218 references found in the literature for the period July 1999 to June 2000.     

醉马草化学成份的研究(Ⅰ)

醉马草(Achnatherum inebrians(Hance) Keng)是禾本科芨芨草属植物,分布在我国西北部,是牧场上一种毒草,目前有蔓延趋势。醉马草化学成份及毒理作用,国内外均未曾进行过研究。探明醉马草化学成份对发展畜牧业和医学事业都具有一定意义。     

Diterpenoid alkaloids from the Chinese traditional herbal "Fuzi" and their cytotoxic activity

Ten diterpenoid alkaloids, including eight aconitine-type C??-diterpenoid alkaloids and two hetisine-type C??-diterpenoid alkaloids, were isolated from the secondary roots of Aconitum carmichaeli Debx., known as "Fuzi" in Chinese traditional herbal medicine. Their structures were established on the basis of their spectroscopic data and comparison with those of the literature. Among these alkaloids, chasmanine, oxonitine and 15-acetylsongoramine were isolated for the first time from this medicinal plant. The cytotoxic activity of the alkaloids were tested against several cell lines by the MTT method in which aconitine, hypaconitine, mesaconitne and oxonitine were found to strongly inhibit the growth of the HePG2 cell line, which showed that the existence and quantity of the ester groups have a significant influence on the cytotoxicity of the diterpenoid alkaloids.     

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry: a versatile, straightforward tool for the analysis of alkaloids from psychoactive plant extracts

In this study we show that a nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (NACE-MS) method carefully optimized by a design of experiment can be applied to a very large number of alkaloids in different plant extracts. It is possible to characterize the pattern of the psychoactive alkaloids in several plant samples and preparations thereof, each presenting different challenges in their analysis. The method is shown to be able to separate structurally closely related substances, diastereomers and further isobaric compounds, to separate members of different alkaloid classes within one run and to tolerate significant matrix load. A comparison with methods presented in the literature reveals that a near-generic NACE-MS method for the fast profiling of alkaloids in forensically relevant plant samples has been developed.