Chondodendron tomentosum

Curare is obtained from various members of the menisperm or moonseed family, particularly from the vines of Chondodendron tomentosum and other members of the Chondodendron genus as well as from various species of Strychnos (Figure 26.1). 

Curare or South American arrow poison varies in composition among Indian tribes. However, the bark of one or more species of Strychnos apparently is always used in its preparation. Strychnos castelnaei Weddell, S. toxifera Bentham, S. Crevauxii G. Planchon, and Chondodendron tomentosum Ruiz Pavon are commonly employed. 

FIGURE 26.1 Left, Chondodendron tomentosum from which curare is derived right, the Amazonian rain forest, the habitat of the plant. 

Choline bromide succinate, 998 Choline chloride, 466 Choline chloride carbamate, 427 Choline chloride succinate, 998 Choline citrate, 466 Choline dihydrogen citrate, 466 Choline salicylate, 965 Choline theophyllinate, 1011 Cholinesterase activity, assay kit, 1171 quantification in serum, 23 test for inhibition of, 6 Chondodendron tomentosum, 1057 Chromatographic performance, evaluation of, 189 Chromatography, adsorption, 204... 

Chondodendron tomentosum Ruiz and Pavon (Menispermaceae)] 141,142] Cyclea barbaia (Wall.) Miers (Menispermaceae)] 143]... 

Chondodendron tomentosum Ruiz and Pavon (Menispennaceae)[141,142,200] Chondendron toxicoforum (Wedd.) Kruk. et Mold. (Menispermaceae)[20l]... 

The two nonquatemary alkaloids of this small subgroup are chondocurine (130) and nor-N(,-chondocurine (230), the latter being the N(2 ) nor- derivative of the former. Chondocurine (also called chondrocurine) has been isolated from Chondodendron tomentosum and 2 species of Cyclea, all three plants being of the family Menispermaceae. The nor-base 230 and chondocurine have both been isolated from what is only described as Peruvian curare. 

In 1935, King (55) isolated a pure alkaloid, which he named d-tubocurarine, from a tube curare of unknown botanical origin. The word "tube" refers to the container in which the South American natives transported their plant extract. It was almost 10 years later that the botanical source for d-tubocurarine was clearly identified as Chondodendron tomentosum. The structure that King assigned to tubocurarine possessed two nitrogen atoms, both of which were quaternary ammonium salts (e.g., a b/s-quaternary ammonium compound). It was not until 1970 that the... 

Recently Kondo, Tomita, and Uyeo (55) applied the technique of chromatographic adsorption on alumina to the separation of the alkaloids of Cissampelos insularis Makino and Stephania cepharantha. By this means they isolated, in addition to those known, a new, crystalline, ether-soluble alkaloid whose analysis agreed with that of a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid. This same alkaloid was also found in Chondodendron tomentosum (104) and Stephania capitata Spreng (121). Through a comparison of its properties and that of its derivatives with samples of isochondodendrine dimethyl ether and derivatives provided by Faltis, the Japanese workers (55) established the structure of the new alkaloid as being fully methylated isochondodendrine (LXI). They suggested the names methylisochondodendrine or cycleanine. An attempt to synthesize this alkaloid was not successful (130). Hovrever, by means of sodium and liquid ammonia the compound has been bisected into only one phenolic base whose structure proved to be M-(4 -hydroxybenzyl)-6,7-dimethoxy-iV-methyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (134). This showed that cycleanine (methylisochondodendrine) has the structure (LXI) with both the asymmetric centers levorotatory. 

A sample of curare was prepared by Indians of the upper Amazon under the supervision of a botanist in order to insure the plant source. The plant species was Chondodendron tomentosum and the curare thus obtained was a black paste called Serpa which represented a concentrated aqueous extract of the stems and bark (81). The desiccated extract contained five alkaloids (104), d-isochondodendrine, methylisochondodendrine, d-tubocurarine chloride, curine, and a new base to which the name d-chondocurine was given. 

The bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid tubocurarine would be an obvious goal for biotechnological production. However, to our knowledge no reports on cell cultures of Chondodendron tomentosum, the plant from... 

Tubocurarine Chondodendron tomentosum, Strychnos toxifera Skeletal muscle relaxant... 

Tubocurare is used in the Amazon basin, and is kept in a container known as a tubo or tube. The poison comprises extracts of the bark of Chondodendron tomentosum and C.platyphyllum (Menispermaceae), which grow wild in Brazil. The toxic principle is the biscoclaurine-type alkaloid J-tubocurarine (d-Tc), which is described later in this section. 

Curare is a muscle relaxant drug, originally used as an arrow poison by Amazonian Indians. The traditional curare is prepared by a secret recipe thought to involve a number of plant species (Plotkin 1993). Plant sources of curare include Strychnos castelnaei and species in the Loganaceae family and Chondodendron tomentosum in the Menispermaceae family. Tubocurarine, a benzylisoquinoline dimer, is the major alkaloid in the curare plants. It exhibits paralysing effects on skeletal muscles, and is used as a muscle relaxant in surgical procedures. It controls convulsions caused by the toxic alkaloid strychnine. 

Dutcher JD (1946) Curare alkaloids from Chondodendron tomentosum Ruiz and Pavon. J Am Chem Soc 68 419-424... 

Wintersteiner O, Dutcher JD (1943) Curare alkaloids from Chondodendron tomentosum. Science 97 467-470... 

Curare 0.5 mg/kg South American arrow poison (Chondodendron tomentosum)... 

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