Melicope perspicuinervia

Halfordinine, found earlier in Halfordia scheroxyla, clearly was a trimethoxydic-tamnine, but its constitution was not established. The alkaloid has since been isolated from Melicope perspicuinervia and shown to be 6,7,8-trimethoxydictamnine... 

The 4-methoxyquinoline alkaloid, (+)-platydesmine (49), was first isolated from Platydesma campanulata (see Volume IX of this treatise), and its structure was confirmed by synthesis of the racemic base (27). It has since been obtained from both Zanthoxylum parviflorum Benth. (41) and, together with its acetate 50, from Geijera salicifolia Schott. (40). ( )-Platydesmine has recently been identified as a constituent of Melicope perspicuinervia (42), and a sample of unspecified optical rotation was isolated from Zanthoxylum belizense Lundell (65). The alkaloid is a key intermediate in the biosynthesis of quinoline alkaloids (see Section VII of this chapter). 

Halfordinine, C15H15N05, a minor component of the bark of Halfordia scleroxyla, was isolated by Crow and Hodgkin (22). There was insufficient material for a full structural investigation, but the alkaloid was shown to be a trimethoxydictamnine on the basis of the NMR spectrum. Halfordinine (mp 150-151°) clearly was not identical with 5,7,8-trimethoxydictamnine (acronycidine) (mp 136-137°). Halfordinine has been obtained recently from the leaves of Melicope perspicuinervia Mer. and Perry. Murphy, Ritchie, and Taylor (42) noted that the NMR signal at t2.69 indicated that... 

Halfordinine I 4,6,7,8-tetraOMe Araliopsis tabouensis [44], Diphasia angolensis [44], Halfordia scleroxyla [44], Melicope leptococca [18], M. perspicuinervia [44], Nematolepis phebalioides [28], Oricia suaveolens [44], Sarcomelicope argyrophylla [21], Teclea verdoorniana [44]... 

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