Chemical Compounds of Veratrum calif ornicum Related to Congenital Ovine Cyclopian Malformations: Extraction of Active Material.

Abstract

The teratogenic material from Veratrum californicum has been extracted from dried plant material by an ethanol extraction of the plant residue remaining after an initial benzene extraction in presence of ammonia, A 250-fold purified preparation from this extract also produced the malformations. It is theorized that the teratogenic material may be an alkaloid of the Veratrum series, likely a glycoside or parent alkamine.