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The main alkaloids in leaves, stems and rhizomes of Antizoma angustifolia, a traditional medicinal plant of the family Menispermaceae, were isolated and identified. The main compound in leaves is almost invariably crotsparine, while stems and rhizomes have several other alkaloids (glaziovine, pronuciferine, bulbocapnine, salutaridine, cissacapine, insularine) in lower yields. These results do not agree with a previous study, where salutaridine was identified as the main alkaloid. Salutaridine was detected as a minor constituent of the rhizomes of only one of the samples. Alkaloids appear to be quite variable within different plant parts and different provenances of A. angustifolia, a fact that may explain the apparent absence of salutaridine in our samples.

A new pyridine, 2-(4′-hydroxypyridin-3′-yl)-acetic acid (1), along with five known alkaloids, cinnaretamine (2), crykonisine (3), corydaldine (4), glaziovine (5) and zenkerine (6), were isolated from the roots of Cinnamomum philippinense (Lauraceae). Their structures were characterized and identified by spectral analysis.

By combination of centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) and common separation methods, seven additional known bases were isolated and characterized from the reinvestigation of L. cubeba besides three previously isolated bases- isocorydine (10), N-methyllaurotetanine (9), and boldine (2). They are laurolitsine (1), laurotetanine (3), isoboldine (4), norisocorydine (5), N-methyllindcarpine (7), isodomesticine (8), and glaziovine (6). Among these, compound 9 is the most abundant (7.5 × 10−4) and will be modified for pharmacological tests. This work will be of value for chemotaxonomy.

Investigation of the cytotoxic principles of Annona purpurea L. resulted in the isolation and characterization of four new alkaloids of the aporphine variety. One of the four is an oxoaporphine which shows borderline activity in vitro against the 9-KB tumor test system. The known aporphine isocorydine, oxoaporphine O-methylatheroline, and the proaporphines glaziovine and stepharine were also obtained. Glaziovine and O-methylatheroline also showed limited tumor inhibition.

Phenolic oxidative coupling of (±)-N-methylcoclaurine with potassium ferricyanide afforded (±)-glaziovine (III), whose methylation with diazomethane gave (±)-pronuciferine (VI). A very interesting dimeric compound (VIII) was also obtained.