THE VERATRINE ALKALOIDS

Abstract

Since the first investigation of the alkaloids contained in the three liliaceous plants, Sabadilla oficinalis (Vera&urn sabadilla), Vera&urn album, and Veratrum viride, as well as several allied species of the veratrums, it has been customary to group them together and to consider the possibility that they are chemically related.Following the older work of Wright and Luff (1) and of Salsberger (2), who made important contributions in regard to the occurrence and formulations of a number of these alkaloids, the recent careful studies of Poethka (3) on the isolat,ion and distribution of the alkaloids in V. album have added the alkaloid germerine to the list and also contributed to our knowledge of the formulations and superficial chemistry of a number of t,hem.It appears definite from what has been done that they belong in two separate categories.The first consists of those which do not behave as ester alkaloids; viz., jervine, C26H3T03N, rubijervine, C2eH4302N, and pseudojervine, C&H4908N (C~~HJ~O~N, according to Wright and Luff).None of these appears to have been found in sabadilla seeds.The second category is that of the highly toxic alkaloids of sabadilla seeds, cevadine and veratridine (4), which are respectively the angelic (or tiglic) and veratric esters of cevine, C27Hd3-OsN, and protoveratrine and germerine which were isolated from V. album.The protoveratrine of Salzberger, according to Poethke, possesses the formulation C40H63014N and yields on saponification the three acids, acetic, I-methylethylacetic, and methylethylglycolic acids and the amorphous alkamine protoverine, CzgHdc-OloN.Germerine is the methylethylacetic and methylethylglycolic esters of a crystalline alkamine germine, C26H4108N.