The structure of vinerine and vineridine
Summary1. The epigeal part ofV. erecta gathered in the Tashkent Oblast in the early vegetation period contains a mixture of alkaloids (2.7%). Separation of the total alkaloids gave vincanine, vincanidine, vinervine, akuammine, kopsinine, pseudokopsinine, and the new bases vinerine and vineridine.2. The structure of vinerine has been established by a study of the IR, NMR, and mass spectra. Vineridine is isomeric with vinerine at C3 and C7.3. A new base, hydroxyindole reserpinine, has been obtained from reserpinine.
THE STRUCTURE AND STEREOISOMERISM OF THREE MITRAGYNA ALKALOIDS
Isorhyncophylline, the isomer into which rhyncophylline is convertible, has been found to occur in nature. Both bases are interconvertible. Isorhyncophylline on hydrolysis with dilute hydrochloric acid is converted to an aldehyde reducible to isorhyncophyllol. When the aldehyde is reduced in the Wolff–Kishner reaction, it is also isomerized and the product is isorhyncophyllane. This reduction product is oxidized by mercuric acetate to a neutral dilactam which still contains the oxindole carbonyl and further contains a new lactam carbonyl present in a six-membered ring. Reduction of the dilactam with lithium aluminum hydride gave a product having the spectroscopic properties of an indole. This confirms the assumption previously made that in rhyncophylline, ring C is five-membered. The isomerization of rhyncophylline, mitraphylline, and formosanine is described. Formosanine has been shown to be identical with uncarine-B and thus uncarine-A is the iso base derivable from formosanine.
THE STRUCTURE OF MITRAPHYLLINE
Mitraphylline (C21H24O4N2) contains a carbomethoxyl group, and on hydrolysis gives rise to mitraphyllic acid. Spectroscopic evidence shows that the alkaloid contains two chromophores, one characteristic of an oxindole and one corresponding to the grouping CH3OOC—C==CH.OR. On treatment with dilute mineral acid the alkaloid gives rise to mitraphyllal (C19H24O3N2), which is a hemiacetal that no longer contains the isolated double bond and the carbomethoxyl group originally present in the alkaloid. Reduction of mitraphyllal by the Wolff–Kishner reaction gives mitraphyllane (C19H26O2N2). The dehydrogenation of mitraphyllal produced 3,4-diethylpyridine and 3-ethyloxindole. The action of lithium aluminum hydride on mitraphylline under mild conditions gave rise to mitraphyllol by reduction of the carbomethoxyl group, and under more vigorous conditions to dihydrodesoxy-mitraphyllol by reduction of the oxindole carbonyl as well. This last product has the properties of an aromatic amine. On the basis of the new expe...