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.

No abstract

No abstract