Alkaloids from Lupinus argenteus var. stenophyllus.
TLC and GLC of an alkaloid extract of the aboveground portions of Lupinus argenteus Pursh. var. stenophyllus (Rydb.) Davis (Leguminosae) suggested the presence of sparteine, beta-isosparteine, delta5-dehydrolupanine, alpha-isolupanine, lupanine, thermopsine, and anagyrine. GLC-mass spectrometry confirmed these preliminary findings. Preparative TLC was used to isolate sparteine, and this alkaloid was further characterized by IR spectral analysis and derivatization.
An investigation of Sophora secundiflora seeds (Mescalbeans).
The seeds of Sophora secundiflora (mescalbeans) have been purported to have hallucinogenic activity because of their past use in certain Native American ceremonies during which visions were experienced by those consuming the seeds. Chemical analysis of mescalbeans revealed the absence of detectable amounts of tryptamine derivatives; however, two additional quinolizidine alkaloids, epi-lupinine and delta5-dehydrolupanine, were isolated. Thus far, seven quinolizidine alkaloids have been detected in mescalbeans and quantitation of these constituents showed that the major alkaloid present is cytisine (o.25%). The toxicity of mescalbeans in mice (oral LD50 1.4 g/kg) is only partially attributable to the known alkaloid content. In addition, the ethnobotanical reports regarding the Native American use of mescalbeans were reviewed. No unequivocal evidence was found in this study to support the proposal that mescalbeans are hallucinogenic.
A Hopewellian Burial Site in the Lower Republican Valley, Kansas
The senior author has for a number of years worked on the problem of the numerous and virtually unknown burial sites on the bluffs bordering the valley of the Republican River in Geary and Clay Counties, Kansas. This work has been a matter of some urgency, owing to the prevalence of unsystematic amateur excavation on the more prominent stone cairns found in the area. Fortunately, the complete excavation of the larger cairns involves too much labor for the merely curious, and it has often been possible to salvage material and information despite disturbance.