Sources of the Drug 



143 



of each are found in the northwestern Himalayan area. Both drugs 

 are on sale in the bazaars of the Orient. i" 



Isolated substances from Colchicuin nutiimuale and related species 

 have been studied extensively by Professor F. Santavy and his 

 colleagues at the Medical-Chemical Institute of the Polacky University 

 of Olomouc, Czechoslovakia. An tip-to-date summary was prepared 

 by Professor Santavy exclusively for this book. Accordingly Tables 

 5.2 and 5.3 combine the significant details from their numerous 

 published and unpublished works. 



The chemical structure of substance F as listed has been de- 

 termined as desacetyl-N-methyl-colchicine, and differs from colchicine 

 bv the loss of the carboxy-group attached to the nitrogen ring as can 

 be seen in the structural diagrams of Chapter 6. Since this compound 

 F has strong c-mitotic properties and is less toxic than the parent 

 alkaloid when used with animals, the further examination of related 

 substances would apj^ear to be worth considerable exploration. A 

 compound "Demecolcin," marketed by Ciba of Basel, Switzerland, has 

 been studied extensively and a preliminary survey shows useful appli- 

 cations to some types of malignant growth. These data are found in 

 references to papers by Bock and Gross (1954) , Meier, Schar, and 



TABLE 5.1 

 Principal Pla.nt Sources of Colchicine 



Colchicum autumnale L. 



C. montanttm L. 



C. arenarium VValdst. and K. 



C. neapoliianum Ten. 



C. alpimim DC. 



C. luteum Baker 



C. multiflornm Brot. 



Merendera bulbocodium Ram. 



M . caucasica Biel. 



M. persica Bois and Kotsch. 



Gloriosa superba L. 



Merendera sobolifera Fisch. 



R'.dbocodium ruthenicum Bung. 



Tojieldia glacialis Gaud. 

 T. calyculala Whlnd. 

 I'eratrum album L. 

 r. nigrum L. 

 Anthericum ramosum L. 

 Hemerocallis fulva L. 

 Ornithogalum umbellatum L. 

 O. comosum L. 

 Tulipa silvestris L. 

 Asphodelus albus VVilld. 

 Fritillaria montana Hoppe. 

 Lloydia serotina Salib. 

 Muscari tenuiflorium Tausch 



