SUMMARY1. In a ration containing paddy straw, the large amount of oxalate ingested does not act in the same way in the ruminant system as has been observed when oxalate-rich spinach is fed to rats. About 10 % of the ingested oxalic acid is recovered in the faeces, and this can be explained as arising out of pre-formed insoluble and unabsorbable calcium oxalate present in paddy straw; the remaining 90%, which is soluble potassium oxalate, does not react with the calcium of the Tation to form unabsorbable calcium oxalate.

Evidence is presented in support of the stereostructures 4 and 5 for cirnicine and cirnicidine, respectively. Alkaloids 4 and 5, as well as the lactonic bases aspidophytine (23) and haplophytine (I), are converted by alkaline hydrogen peroxide to the corresponding 10-0x0 derivatives.On prCsente des preuves qui justifient I'attribution des sttrtostructures 4 e t 5 i la cimicine et i . la cirnicidine, respectivement. Les alcaloi'des 4 et 5, de rnCme que les bases lactoniq~les aspidophytine (23) et haplophytine (I), sont transformts par I'action de ptroxyde d'hydrogene alcalin en dtrivts 0x0-10.[Traduit par l e journal]Can. J . Chem., 51, 3102 (1973) Haplophytotz citnicidimz (Apocy~aceae) has been shown to contain a number of alkaloids of the aspidospermine type. Among these are the novel binuclear indole base haplophytine (1) (1-5), the carbinolaniine-ether bases haplocine (2) and haplocidine (3) (6), and the carbinolamine-lactone bases cimicine (7) and cimicidine (1, 2, 7).' In this paper, evidence is presented in support of the stereostructures 4 and 5 for cimicine and cimicidine, respectively, and some additional chemistry of these alkaloids is discussed. Cimicine, [a], + L 13" (CHCI,), has the molecular formula CzzH2,N20,. Its p.m.r. spectrum shows a number of points of similarity to that of its companion alkaloid hap-

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Dammaradienyl acetate (1) (0.01%), taraxasterol (6) (0.0008%) and stigmasterol (c. 0.005%) have been isolated from the whole plant of Eupatorium cannabinum (Compositae). A mass spectrometric study of dammaradienyl acetate (1) and its derivatives has been reported.

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