zyx zyxwv zyxw loso zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Journal of Natural Products Vol. 47, No. 6 , p p . 1050-1051. Noy-Der 1984 zyxwvutsr DIHYDRORUGOSINONE, A PSEUDOBENZYLISOQUINOLINE ALKALOID FROM BERBERIS DARWIN11 AND BERBERIS ACTINACANTHA EMIRVALENCIA,INGE WEISS,MAURICESHAMMA, Department of Chemistty, The Pennsylvania State University, Univer:itj Park. Pennsylvania 16802 ALEJANDROURZUA, zyxwvut Departamento de Quimica, Universidad ak Santiago de Chile. Santiago 2 , Chile and VICTOR FAJARDO Departamento de Quimira, Petroleo y Petroquimira, Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas. Chile The pseudobenzylisoquinolines are a small group of alkaloids incorporating a benzylisoquinoline nucleus. Ring A is usually oxygenated at C-6 and C-7, while ring C is inevitably oxygenated at C-2',3', and 4 ' . It has been suggested that pseudobenzylisoquinolines could originate in vivo from the oxidative cleavage of protoberberinium salts, thus accounting for the unusual oxygenation pattern observed for ring C (1). Known pseudobenzylisoquinolines include polycarpine (2), polyberbine (3), taxilamine (4), (-)-ledecorine ( 5 ) , and rugosinone (6,7). The occurrence of pseudobenzylisoquinolines must be fairly widespread because they have been reported in members of the Annonaceae (2), Berberidaceae (3,4), Fumariaceae ( 5 ) , and Ranunculaceae (6,7). W e have now observed the presence of the amorphous, new, yellow pseudobenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, dihydrorugosinone (l),in Chilean Berberis dzrwinii Hook. as well as in Berberis actinacantha Mart. ex Schult. (Berberidaceae). The 200 MHz CDCl, 'Hnmr spectrum of dihydrorugosinone is summarized in formula 1. This spec- trum is essentially identical with that of the known synthetic dihydrorugosinone prepared by in vitro oxidation of berberine (1). Similarly, the uv spectrum of the natural product is close to that reported for the synthetic material (7). Significantly, 13. dzrwinii also produces rugosinone. Because berberine is found in all Berberis species, it is quite possible that this quaternary alkaloid may be oxidized in vivo to dihydrorugosinone, which can then be dehydrogenated to rugosinone (1). The oxidation of dihydrorugosinone (1) to rugosinone has also been carried out in vitro using air and ethanolic NaOH (8). zyxwv EXPERIMENTAL PLANT MATERIAL.-B. actinacantha (dried twigs, 25 kg) was collected on Cerro Lo Curro, Ciudad Santiago. B. dawinii (dried stems, 18 kg) was gathered near Ciudad Osorno, in south-central Chile. The plants were aid-dried and powdered. They were identified botanically by Ms. Melica Mufioz Schick of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Santiago. EXTRACTIONAND IsoLATloN.-The plant materials were first defatted with petroleum ether. Extraction was with cold EtOH. The dried ethanolic extracts were treated with 3 N HCI. Following basification with ",OH, the crude alkaloids were extracted with CHCI,. The basic compounds were then separated on silica gel columns, elution being with CHCli and increasing percentages of MeOH. Final purification of the alkaloids was on silica gel tlc plates, using the systems CHC13-MeOH-NH40H (90:10:1) and C6H,-Me,CO-MeOH-NH40H (45:45:10:1). Dihjdrorrtgosinonr (l).-Each of the two plants supplied 3 mg; hrms C,,,H,,NO,, m p 220-223" (MeOH), ir v max CHC13 1620 c m - ' , eims ni/z zy zyxwvu zyxwvut zyxwv zyx zyxw zyxwvu zyxwvu Nov-Dec 19841 Valencia et al. : Dihydrorugosinone from Berberis zyxwvu zyx 353 ( 5 3 ) , 339 (32), 324 (34),296 (93),294 (82), 174 (53L 173 (42), 172 (100); 'H-nmr (see formula 1);uv A max MeOH 228 sh, 299 nm (log E 4.7 1 , 4.50). The CDCI, nmr spectrum of synthetic dihydrorugosinone was inadvertently reported to show a two-proton triplet at 6 2.41 for H-4 (8).The correct chemical shift should have been 6 2.8 1. Rugosinone.-From B. h m j i n i i was isolated 4 mg. The spectral characteristics of this alkaloid corresponded to those reported in the literature (67). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (%) 355 (M)+ (42),354 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. This work was supported by grant CHE82 10699 from the National Science Foundation. 1. 105 1 LITERATURE CITED N . Murugesan and M. Shamma, Tetrahedron Lett., 4521 (1979). 8. A. Jossang, M. Leboeuf, A. Cave, M. Damak,and C . Riche, C.R. Acud. Sci., Ser. C , 284, 467 (1977). S . Firdous, A.J. Freyer, M. Shamma, and A. Urzka,J. Am. Chem. SK., (in press). G. Blasko, M. Shamma, A.A. Ansari, and Atta-ur-Rahman, Heterocycles, 19, 257 (1982). I.A. Israilov, M.S. Yunusov, and S. Yu. Yunusov, Khim. Przr. Soedin.. 537 (1978); Chem. Nut. Comp.,465 (1979). W . N . W u , J.L. %I, and R. W . Doskotch, J. Nat. Prod., 43, 143 (1980). S.K.Chattopadhyay, A.B. Ray, .D.J. Slatkin, and P.L. Schiff, Jr., Phytochemistry, 22, 2607 (1983). N. Mumgesan and M. Shamma, Heterocycles, 14, 585 (1980). Rareived 28June 1984