A chemotaxonomic investigation on the basic fraction of a
medicinal plant Psycrotria rostrata, has resulted in the
isolation of six alkaloidal components . The structures of
these alkaloids were elucidated using spectroscopic methods
such as UV, IR, NMR, MS and also by comparison with literature .
The alkaloids were found to be chimonanthine , calycanthine,
hodgkinsine , a stereoisomer of quadrigemine B, designated as Z-2 and two new compounds, Z-3 and Z-4.
All these alkaloids were actually oligamers of either two ,
three or four units of compounds derived from tryptamines .
Chimonanthine , hodgkinsine , Z-2 and Z-4 were made up of
pyrrolidinoindoline type structures While calycanthine was
