Alkaloids plant family

Early investigators grouped alkaloids according to the plant families in which they are found, the stmctural types based on their carbon framework, or their principal heterocycHc nuclei. However, as it became clear that the alkaloids, as secondary metaboUtes (30—32), were derived from compounds of primary metabohsm (eg, amino acids or carbohydrates), biogenetic hypotheses evolved to link the more elaborate skeletons of alkaloids with their simpler proposed pregenitors (33). These hypotheses continue to serve as valuable organizational tools (7,34,35). 

The latter is the source of the Chinese dmg Chin-Shih-Hu. Compared to the other families of bases discussed eadier, the numbers of alkaloids supposedly derived from famesyl pyrophosphate or a close relative is small. However, given the wide variety of plant families containing sesquiterpenes, it is most likely that the numbers of compounds to be found will dramatically increase. 

The tropane alkaloids occur mainly in the plant family Solanaceae but are also found in the families Convolvufaceae, Erythroxylaceae, Proteaceae, and Rhizophoraceae. In addition, the presence of tropane alkaloids has occasionally been indicated in the families Euphorbiaceae and Cruciferae (cf. Tables II and III). For a detailed account of the distribution of tropane alkaloids among species, interested readers should consult Refs. (15-23) and references therein. 

Most botanists divide the plant family Apocynaceae into three subfamilies Plumerioideae, Cerberoideae, and Echitoideae. Alkaloids have been isolated from species belonging to all of these subfamilies however, indole alkaloids have been found only in the Plumerioideae. This subfamily is further divided into seven tribes, and indole alkaloids are present only in four of these, namely, Carisseae, Tabemaemontaneae, Alstonieae (Plumerieae), and Rau-wolfieae. 

Some plant families are especially rich in alkaloids. The Dogbane botanical family (Apocynaceae Lindl., Juss.) is a good example (Table 2). This family is distributed worldwide, especially in tropical and sub-tropical areas. The Dogbane family is a large botanical taxa containing at least 150 genera and 1700 species. Alkaloids are especially abundant in the following... 

Figure 10. L-phenylalanine is a precnrsor of alkaloids in Skythantus species belonging to the Dogbane plant family.

Alkaloids derived from L-ornithine, L-lysine, and L-trypthophan occur in the Legume plant family (Fabaceae Juss.) (Table 9). This plant family is the third largest botanical family, with 650 genera and 18000 species in the humid tropics, sub-tropics, temperate and sub-arctic zones around the Globe". L-ornithine-derived alkaloids such as senecionine are present in the genus Crota Crotalaria L.). 

The Coffee (syn. Madder) botanical family (Rubiaceae Juss.) (Table 15) consists of more than 400 genera and over 6000 species. It grows in the tropics and the sub-tropics. Plants belonging to this family include trees, bushes and liane. The Coffee plant family contains two major purines of adenine- /guanine-derived alkaloids, the so-called purine alkaloids . Purine is a nitrogenous base of nucleotide, which consists of just purine and pentose sugar (o-ribose or 2 deoxy-D-ribose). Typical purine alkaloids are caffeine, theophylline and theobromine. The same or similar purine alkaloids occur also in other plant families. 

Quinazoline alkaloids contain more than 100 compounds. They have been isolated from animal and plant sources. The plant family Rutaceae is especially rich in these alkaloids. Typical quinazoline alkaloids include, for example, arborine, glomerin, homoglomerin, glycerine, glycosminine, febrifugine and... 

Plants containing indoleamines include Psilocybe mushrooms, morning glory and Virola. Plants containing tropane alkaloids such as the muscarinic antagonists scopolamine and atropine are found in some members of the Solanaceae plant family—including datura, mandrake, henbane and... 

Chemical Class Alkaloid derivative of Solanaceae plant family I Clinical Pharmacology ... 

Heterocycles which are not biosynthesized in humans, but which are natural products produced by other life forms, are very important in the history of drug design. This is particularly true of alkaloids containing a piperidine ring. These include coniine (8.87, extracted from poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, a member of the Umbelliferae carrot family), atropine (from Atropa belladonna and other genera of the Solanaceae plant family the plant was called belladonna [ beautiful woman ] since it was used by... 

Atropine and scopolamine are alkaloids produced by members of the plant family Solanaceae which includes belladonna Atropa belladonna -source of atropine), henbane Hyoscyamius niger- the source of scopolamine), tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers, eggplant, and members of the Datura subfamily or genus, thornapple, Jimson or Jamestown weed, angel s trumpet, stinkweed, mandrake, and devil s apple. In the eatable plants it is the green portions which are poisonous vines, leaves, and sprouts. 

---