Nazlinin (1-(4-butylamino)-l,2,3,4-tetrahydro-/3-carboline) (1), an alkaloid recently isolated from Nitraria schoberi, and its two derivatives, 1-(4-butylamino)-3,4-dihydro-fl-carboline (2) and 1-(4-butylamino)-fl-carboline (3), were synthesized and their interaction with pig kidney diamine oxidase (PKDO) was studied. Nazlinin appeared to be a very poor substrate while 3 was a good substrate with an apparent K m of 9.3" 10 -5 M. The enzyme was inhibited by 1 and 2. With both compounds the mode of inhibition found was non-competitive and inhibition constants calculated from the slopes and intercepts of double-reciprocal plots show that 2 is a much more potent inhibitor than the natural product. The relationship between the structure of these compounds and the results found is discussed.