Alkaloids are basic (alkali-like), nitrogen-containing organic constituents found in some plants.Alkaloids are normally classified according to the heterocyclic ring system they possess, but some authors prefer a classification based on their biosynthetic origins from amino acids, e.g. phenylalanine, tyrosine or tryptophan. (Justin et al.) Many individual names are formed by adding the suffix "-ine" to the species or generic alkaloids. For example, atropine is isolated from the plant Atropa belladonna, strychnine is obtained from the seed of Strychnine tree. Alkaloids are important chemical compounds that serve as a rich reservoir for drug discovery. Several alkaloids isolated from natural herbs exhibit antiproliferation and antimetastasis effects on various types of cancers both in vitro and in vivo. Alkaloids, such as camptothecin and vinblastine, have already been successfully developed into anticancer drugs.

1. Alkaloids
Submitted By:
Ananya Azad Hrisha- 1558

2. Alkaloids
Alkaloids are basic (alkali-like), nitrogen-containing organic constituents found in some plants. They give
positive responses with Dragendorff, Mayer, Hager and Wagner reagents .Alkaloids are organic bases.
Many alkaloids are poisonous, others are addictive (e.g. cocaine), and some are used clinically (e.g.
morphine). More than 10 000 alkaloids are now known, the first discovered being narcotine, isolated from
opium by Derosne in 1803. (Plant Alkaloids, Jack G Woolley) 1
Alkaloids are normally classified according to the heterocyclic ring system they possess, but some authors
prefer a classification based on their biosynthetic origins from amino acids, e.g. phenylalanine, tyrosine or
tryptophan. (Justin et al.)2
Many individual names are formed by adding the suffix "-ine" to the species or
generic alkaloids. For example, atropine is isolated from the plant Atropa belladonna, strychnine is obtained
from the seed of Strychnine tree.4
Alkaloids are important chemical compounds that serve as a rich reservoir
for drug discovery. Several alkaloids isolated from natural herbs exhibit antiproliferation and antimetastasis
effects on various types of cancers both in vitro and in vivo. Alkaloids, such as camptothecin and
vinblastine, have already been successfully developed into anticancer drugs. (Jin-Jian Lu et al., 2012)3
.
Classification of Alkaloids
 Currently, alkaloids are classified according to both chemical structure and origin. In Table 1 an
alkaloid classification is presented. (Emin Cadar et al., 2015)5
Table-1: Alkaloid classification according to structure of derivatives
Group Representatives
Tropane derivatives Atropine, cocaine, ecgonine, scopolamine
Isoquinoline derivatives Opium alkaloids, morphine, codeine, thebaine,
papaverine, narcotine, sanguinarine, narceine,
hydrastiane, berberine
Quinoline derivatives Quinine, quinidine, dihydroquinone,
dihyrdoqunidine, strychnine, brucine, veratrine,
cevadine
Pyridine derivatives Piperine, coniine, trigonelline, arecaidine,
guvacine, pilocarpine, cytosine, nicotine,
sparteine, pelletierine
Pyrolidine derivatives Hygrine, cuschygrine, nicotine
Terpeness From aconite: aconitine
Sterols: solanine, samandarine
Betaine derivatives (with quaternary azoth) Muscarine, choline, neurine

3. Phenethylamine derivatives Mescalime, ephedrine
Indole derivatives Tryptamie derivatives: dimethyltryptamine
(DMT), NMT, psilocybin, serotonin, melatonin
Ergolines: alkaloids originating from ergot:
ergine, ergotamine, lyseric acid, and so on.;
derivatives of lysergic acid (LSD)
Beta-carbolines: harmine, yohimbine, reserpină,
emetine
Purine derivatives Xanthine derivatives: caffeine, theobromine,
theophylline
 Alkaloids are often divided into the following major groups: (Anonymous)
1. "True alkaloids”: which contain nitrogen in the heterocycle and originate from amino acids. Their
characteristic examples are atropine, nicotine and morphine. This group also includes some alkaloids which
beside nitrogen heterocycle contain terpene (e.g. evonine) or peptide fragments (e.g. ergotamine). This
group also includes piperidine alkaloids coniine and coniceine although they do not originate from amino
acids.
2. "Protoalkaloids”: which contain nitrogen and also originate from amino acids. Examples include
mescaline, adrenaline and ephedrine.
3. Polyamine alkaloids: derivatives of putrescine, spermidine and spermine.
4. Peptide and cyclopeptide alkaloids.
5. Pseudalkaloids: alkaloid-like compounds which do not originate from amino acids. This group includes,
terpene-like and steroid-like alkaloids, as well as purine-like alkaloids such as caffeine, theobromine and
theophylline. Some authors classify as pseudoalkaloids such compounds such as ephedrine and cathinone.
Those originate from the amino acid phenylalanine, but acquire their nitrogen atom not from the amino acid
but through transamination.

4. Table-2: Brief description on Alkaloids
Alkaloid Name Source
(Genus/Family)
Source
Type &
Inhabitant
Therapeutic Uses
Qunine Cinchona bark,
extract
Family: Rubeceae1
Genus: Cinchona
 Cinchona
calisaya Wedd.
(1848)
 Cinchona
officinalis L.
(1753)
 Cinchona
pubescens Vahl
(1790)
Tree,
medicinal
plant.
They are native
to the
tropical Andea
n forests of
western South
America.
(Motley and
Cheryl, 2010)
6.
 Antimalarial1
, anti-
pyretic, and slight
analgesic.5
 Can be used in
persistent febrile
states, migraine.5
Qunidine Antiarrhythmic (heart)
Vinblastine Periwinkle plant
Catharanthus roseus
and other vinca
plants.
Subshrub
 Component of a
number
of chemotherapy
regimens
 also used to treat
histiocytosis.7
Vinca
Alkal
oids

5. Vincristine
Genus: Catharanthus
Family: Apocynaceae
Endemic to
Madagascar
 Delivered
via intravenous infusi
on for use in various
types
of chemotherapy
regimens
 Occasionally used as
an immunosuppressa
nt, for example, in
treating thrombotic
thrombocytopenic
purpura(TTP) or
chronic idiopathic
thrombocytopenic
purpura (ITP).8
Vindesine  Is an anti-
mitotic vinca
alkaloid used
in chemotherapy.
 Used to treat many
different types of
cancer, including
leukaemia, lymphom
a, melanoma, breast
cancer, and lung
cancer.
Vinorelbine  Chemotherapy
medication used to
treat a number of
types of cancers like
breast cancer, non-
small cell lung
cancer.
 Also active
in rhabdomyosarcom
a.9
Codeine Obtained from poppy
plant Papaver
somniferum
Genus: Papaver
Family: Papaveraceae
Annual herb.
Native range
is probably the
eastern
Mediterranean
.
.
 Used as a central
analgesic, sedative,
hypontic,
antinonciceptive,
antiperistaltic.10
 Suppress both
artificially induced
and disease-related
cough.11
 Widely used as anti-
tussivedrug.12
Morphine Primary source of
morphine is isolation
Annual herb.  Used to treat acute
and chronic pain.5
Vin
ca
Alk
aloi
ds

6. from poppy straw of
the opium poppy.13
Genus: Papaver
Family: Papaveraceae
Native range
is probably the
eastern
Mediterranean
.
.
 Immediate-release
morphine is
beneficial in reducing
the symptom
of shortness of
breath due to
both cancer and
noncancer causes.14,15
 Sustained-release
morphine
significantly reduces
breathlessness safely,
with its benefits
maintained over
time.16,17
Papaverine Papaverine is
extracted from the
milky juice of raw
poppy capsules
(opium).5
Genus: Papaver
Family: Papaveraceae
Annual herb.
Native range
is probably the
eastern
Mediterranean
.
 An
opiumalkaloidantispa
smodic drug, used
primarily in the
treatment of visceral
spasm, vasospasm
(especially those
involving the heart
and the brain), and
occasionally in the
treatment of erectile
dysfunction.
 Effect is exerted
directly on smooth
muscles.5
Strychnine
The strychnine
tree (Strychnos nux-
vomica L.), also
known as nux
vomica, poison
nut, semen
strychnos and quaker
buttons.
Genus: Strychnos
Family: Loganiaceae
A deciduous tr
opicaltree nati
ve to India,
and southeast
Asia.
 Very toxic.
 Convulsant.2
 Effective in digestive
problems, different
types of pains etc.
Atropine  Datura
stramonium L.
(syn. D. inermis).
 Datura anoxia
 Atropa
belladonna
 Herbaceo
us,
leafy annu
als and
short-
lived pere
nnial.
 Atropine is used as
an antidote in
muscarine
intoxications.5
 In ophthalmology, it
is used for pupil
dilation (mydriasis)

7.  Mandragora
officinarum
Genus: Datura
Family: Solanaceae
 Believed
to have
originated
in Mexico,
but has
now
become
naturalize
d in many
other
regions.
in ocular
examinations.5
 Competitive
antagonist of
muscarinic
acetylcholine
receptors.2
 Anti-cholinergic,
anti-myopia effects.2
Berberine Berberis species,
Hydrastis,
Canadensis,
Xanthorhiza
simplicissima,
Phellodendron
amurense, Coptis
chinensis, Tinospora
cordifolia, Argemone
mexicana and
Eschscholzia
californica
Many
plants/trees of
various places.
 Anti inflammatory,
anti bacterial/viral,
recently experiments
showed anti diabetic
and beneficial effects
on cardiovascular
system and anti
cancer and others
disorders such as
intestinal2
Cytisine (baptitoxine,
sophorine)
Labum and Cytisus of
Family: Fabaceae
Shrub
Native to
western and
central
Europe.
 Acetylcholine
agonist, smoking
cessation drug.
Nicotine Nicotiana
tobacum
Genus: Nicotiana
Family: Solanaceae
Forb/herb
Originated in
the tropical
Americas
(South
America,
Mexico, and
the West
Indies)
 Stimulant,
antiherbivore,
insectide, anti-
inflammatory.2
Caffeine Found in coffee, tea,
cola nuts, mate,
guarana, and cocoa.
 Stimulant of the
CNS, increase of
pulse and arterial
blood pressure,
bronchial dilator,
stimulant of intestinal
peristalsis.

8. Reference:
1. Plant Alkaloids Jack G Woolley, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
2. Plant Secondary Metabolites: Biosynthesis, Classification, Function and Pharmacological
Properties Justin N. Kabera1
, Edmond Semana1
, Ally R. Mussa1
and Xin He1, 2
1) Department of Pharmacology, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of
Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China
2) Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China
3. Review Article: Alkaloids Isolated from Natural Herbs as the Anticancer Agents, Jin-Jian Lu, Jiao
Lin Bao, Xiu-Ping Chen, Min Huang, and Yi-Tao Wang, State Key Laboratory of Quality Research
in Chinese Medicine (University of Macau) and Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University
of Macau, Avenue Padre Toma’s Pereira, Taipa 999078, Macao, China, Received 11 May 2012;
Revised 17 July 2012; Accepted 30 July 2012, Academic Editor: Alvin J. Beitz, Copyright © 2012
Jin-Jian Lu et al.
4. Chemical Encyclopedia: http://www.xumuk.ru/encyklopedia/119.html
Emetine
Ipecac
Cephalelisipecacuan
ha A. Rich. (Rio
Ipecac)
and
C. acuminata H. Karst
(Cartagena ipecac).
Family: Rubiaceae
Shrubby plant.
Grows in
Brazilian
rainforests and
other locations
in Central and
South
America.
 Ipecac is used in the
treatment of
poisoning by
induction of emesis
and production of
expectoration.
 Ipecac syrup
(Clinical
applications)-Ipecac
syrup is used to
induce vomiting,
after the ingestion of
toxic compounds or
after a drugs
overdose.18
Cephaeline
SORBICILLACTONE-A Salt-water culture of
a Penicillium
chrysogenum
strain isolated from a
specimen of the
Mediterranean
sponge
Irciniafasciculata.19,20
Mediterranean
.
 Active against
leukemia cells
without showing
notable
cytotoxicity.21
 Has anti-tumour,
antiviral and
neuroprotective
properties.22,23,24

9. 5. The Impact of Alkaloids Structures from Natural Compounds on Public Health, Emin Cadar (Umf
Carol Davila Bucharest, Faculty of Pharmacy), Str. Traian Vuia (Nr. 6, Sector 2, Bucharest,
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Corp B, University Alley Nr. 1, Constanta, Romania); Alef Mustafa (Ovidius University of
Constanta, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Corp B, University Alley Nr. 1, Constanta, Romania);
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