Chemical modification of plant alkaloids. I. Aminomethylation of barbituric acid derivatives by cytisine

Reaction of cytisine with 1-mono- and 1,3-disubstituted 5-arylmethylbarbituric acids in the presence of formaldehyde results in aminomethylation of C-5 to form the corresponding 5-cytisylmethylbarbituric acids. The structures of the products are found using PMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. 1-Phenyl-5-(2,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-5-cytisylmethylbarbituric acid is obtained as a mixture of two steroisomers in an approximately 21 ratio.I. I. Mechnikov St. Petersburg State Medical Academy, 195067, St. Petersburg, Piskarevskii pr., 47; 2) ZAO Interbioscreen, 142432, Chernogolovka, Moscow District, Institutskii pr. 8. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 152–156, March–April, 2000.