The crystal structure of zerumbone, C15H22O, extracted from the rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet Smith, has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 295(1) K and refined by least squares to a residual of 0.051 for 925 'observed' reflections. Crystals are monoclinic, space group P21/c, a 9.036(3), b 9.712(5), c 15.643(6) �, β 97.19(3)�, Z = 4. Although the molecule has no chiral centre, the presence of the three trans double bonds confers considerable distortion and rigidity on the eleven-membered ring and renders the whole molecule chiral and potentially resolvable.

From the bark of Elmerrillia papuana (Schltr.) Dandy (Magnoliaceae) were isolated the known alkaloids liriodenine, norushinsunine (as its diacetyl derivative) and N-methylushinsunine iodide, together with a new alkaloid, elmerrillicine (as its monoacetyl and diacetyl derivatives). By spectroscopic methods elmerrillicine was deduced to be 3-methoxy-l,2-methylenedioxy-6-demethylaporphin-11-ol, This structure was confirmed by a synthesis by the standard route involving a Pschorr reaction and by a photochemical synthesis in which a dehydroaporphine was an intermediate.

The first total syntheses of (±)-norphoebine, dehydrophoebine, oxophoebine, dehydrocrebanine, oxocrebanine and uthongine have been achieved. The crucial step involved the formation of ring C by a microwave-assisted direct biaryl coupling to produce the aporphine skeleton in high yields. The synthetic alkaloids were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines MCF7, KB and NCI-H187. The results showed that uthongine was the best candidate of the series and it exhibited cytotoxicity against a human breast cancer MCF7 line with an IC50 = 3.05 μM.

The structures previously assigned to the phenethylisoquinoline alkaloids (-)-isoautumnaline and (+)-dysoxyline have been confirmed by total syntheses of the corresponding racemic substances.

The following substituted 2-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-ones have been isolated from the dried flowers of Combretum quadrangulare Kurz ( Combretaceae ): 5-hydroxy-3,3′,4′,5′,7-pentamethoxy ( combretol ) (1), 3′,5-dihydroxy-3,4′,7-trimethoxy ( ayanin ) (2) and 4′,5-dihydroxy- 3,3′,5′,7-tetramethoxy (3). The last substance (3) was obtained as a mixture of two polymorphic forms (α and β) each of which was characterized by X-ray diffraction. Diffractometer data at 295 K were refined by full matrix least squares to residuals of 0.043 (1181 'observed' reflections) for the α-phase and 0.044 (1421) for the β phase of (3). Crystals of the α-phase of (3) are triclinic, Pī, a 12.663(6), b 9.592(4), c 7.444(4) Ǻ, α 102.48(3), β 101.39(4), γ 91.72(4)°,Z 2. Crystals of the β-phase of (3) are monoclinic P21/n, a 17.139(8), b 12.728(6), c 7.845(7) Ǻ, β 95.07(6)°, Z 4. An unambiguous synthesis of (3) was also achieved.