Ervatamia yunnanensis

Several new sources of quebrachamine (5) (10-16) and, particularly, voaphylline (conoflorine, 6) (15,17-34) have been found in recent years. Other known alkaloids encountered in recent extractions include vincadine (7) (35,36), 14,15-didehydro-epivincadine (8) (37), rhazidine (9) (38), and 12-methoxyvoaphylline (10) (39-41). New alkaloids include quebrachamine hydroxyindolenine (strictanol, 11), which has been found in the fruits (42) and leaves (43) of R. stricta, and voaphylline hydroxyindolenine (12), for which five sources have been reported (20,22,27,34,44). In common with many other hydroxyindolenine derivatives of easily oxidized alkaloids, these may well prove to be artifacts of the extraction process. Ervayunine (13), the enantiomer of voaphylline, occurs in the roots of Ervatamia yunnanensis... 

Voachalotine Alstonia legouixiae Ervatamia yunnanensis Peschiera buchtieni Peschiera campestris Tabemaemontana fuchsiaefolia Voacanga chalotiana... 

The mixture of constituents [e.g., normacusine B (2), affinisine (8), Na-methylpericyclivine (41), voachalotine (64)] present in Peschiera van heur-ckii from the tropical rain forest in Bolivia is known for its alleged leishmani-cidal and bactericidal activity (37). Like many quaternary alkaloids, the major quaternary alkaloid from Strychnos angolensis, 11-methoxymacusine A (76), shows muscle-relaxant activity (187). The crude mixture of nine alkaloids present in Ervatamia yunnanensis is used in Chinese folk medicine for the treatment of hypertension (176). One of these alkaloids is a sarpagine derivative [voachalotine (64)]. 

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