Nitidine and oxynitidine, two new benzophenanthridine alkaloids, haveUnlike the other alkaloids of this been isolated from Zanthoxylum nitidurn. class, these compounds are substituted in the 6 : 7 : 2' : 3'-positions.Zanthoxylum nitidum (Lam.) DC. (Fagara nitida), known locally as Ju ti chin niu (golden cow in the soil) , a woody climber with yellow root and small white flowers, grows in most areas of Hong Kong Colony. An investigation of the bacteriostatic properties of the Formosan plant has been reported,, and in Part I we showed that diosmin occurred in the root bark.An alkaloid, oxynitidine, and a salt of a related quaternary alkaloid, nitidine, have now been isolated from the methanol extracts of the root bark and root wood. Oxynitidine is insoluble in water and thus was separated from the quaternary salt when the mixture as isolated was boiled with water. Basification of the aqueous salt solution

A new benzophenanthridine alkaloid, avicine, has been isolated from the root bark of Zanthoxylum avicennuc. Avicine is related to nitidine in the same way as sanguinarine is related to chelerythrine. Hesperidin has been obtained from the leaves, and a mixture of hesperidin, diosmin, and, avicennin, from the root bark of this plant.

Three triterpenoids isolated from Neolitseapulchella, have been proved by n.m.r. and mass spectral data, and chemical correlations with one another and with cycloneolitsin (3p-methoxy-24,24-dimethyl-9,19-cyclolanost-25-ene) to be 3~-methoxy-24,24-dimethyl-lanosta-9(11).25-diene (I), 24,24-dimethyl-lanosta-9(11),25-dien-3-one (11), and 24chydroxy-3 pmet hoxy-24,2 5d i met h y I -1 a no st -9 ( 1 1 )e n e ( 111).THE isolation of compound (I) C33H& from Neolitsea pulcheZla was first reported in 1967 when it was indicated by spectroscopic evidence to be the methyl ether of a tetracyclic triterpene alcohol, C3,H5,0, which contained two double bonds. It was later discovered that chromatography of the light petroleum extract of the stems of the same plant yielded besides (I) in the earlier fractions, a second compound C3,H5,0 (11), m.p. 168-171", [a], +61.0°, followed by a third compound C33H5802The n.m.r. spectra of both (I) and (11) indicate the presence of an isopropenyl group [S 4.68 (ZH, m) and 1.68 p.p.m. (3H, s)], and those of all the three compounds a trisubstituted double bond [8 5-23 (lH, m)]. Both (I) and (111) were shown to contain an equatorial methoxy-group2 [a 3.36 (3H, s) and 2-57-2-76 p.p.m. (IH, ca. q)], and (111) a tertiary hydroxy-function [6 1-36 (lH, s, exchangeable) and no multiplet signal at 8 3-0-4.0 p.p.m.1. (111), m.p. 272-275", [a]= +52.0". Each of the three compounds gave a positive Liebermann-Burchardt reaction.The i.r. spectra of all three compounds indicate the presence of a trisubstituted double bond (vmz 3050, 862, 814 cm-l), those of (I) and (11) a vinylidene group (3090, 1640, 890 cm-l), and that of (111) an equatorial ether linkage (1100 cm-l) t [similar to that of (I)], and a tertiary hydroxy-group (3625 cm-1). The presence of a carbonyl group in a six-membered ring in (11) is revealed by an absorption at 1710 cm-l. Taken in CS,. The value 1090 cm-1 in ref. 1 should be 1100 crn-l.Ritchie et aL3 recently isolated from Neolitsea dealbata a new triterpene cycloneolitsin, C,H5,0, and established its structure as 3~-rnethoxy-24,24-dimethyl-9,19-cyclolanost-25-ene (IV). Since compounds (1)-(111) were obtained from a species of the same genus, it was probable that they were closely related to (IV), since all of these compounds were unusual CS2 triterpenoids. The remarkable difference is that (IV) contains a cyclopro-

A new optically active flavanone, for which the name farrerol is proposed, has been isolated from the leaves of Rhododendron furrerue. It has been shown to be 5 : 7 : 4'-trihydroxy-6 : 8-dimethylflavanone (4'-demethylmatteucinol) and so it has, in coxrunon with two of the other known optically active naturally occurring flavanones, methyl groups in the 6-and 8-positions.ARTHUR and HUI (J., 1954, 4683) reported that the leaves of the Rhododendrons of Hong Kong contain the triterpene acid, ursolic acid; they also showed (ihd., p. 2782) that the leaves of R . simsii contain in addition the flavanone, matteucinol. Examination of the leaves of the other Rhododeitdrons of Hong Kong in the manner adopted for R. simsii (Zoc cit.) reveals the presence of a new flavanone (hereafter called '' farrerol ") in R. farrerae, but flavonoid compounds were not obtained from R. championae, R. westlandii, or K.

Summary 205 species of plants of North Borneo have been examined for alkaloids, triterpenoids and steroid compounds, saponins, essential oils, glycosides and hydrogen cyanide. Native names and uses for the plants were collected and some of these are recorded.