172 Colchicine 



Mention was earlier made of congeners of colchicine (6.1) . These 

 include a demediylcolchicine —or "substance C" — in which one of the 

 three methoxyl groups of ring A is demethylated. Horowitz and 

 Ullyot*'- find what is probably the same compound present in U.S. P. 

 colchicine to an extent of some 4 per cent. It is also interesting that 

 Bellef's-'^'^ has isolated a glucoside, namely colchicoside, C27H0.0OUN, 

 from C. autuinnalc and that this glucoside may be hydrolyzed to. and 

 synthesized from, "substance C" and glucose. The glucosidic link 

 probably involves the oxygen atom which in ring A is adjacent to 

 ring B. Santavy and his colleagues have improved the technicpie of 

 isolating colchicine from C. (lutiniDuiJe and have examined its sea- 

 sonal variation in the plant. ''"^ They also surveyed various Colchicuin 

 species for alkaloid content and found C. arennrium W.K. to be par- 

 ticularly rich in colchicine. Finally they have made considerable 

 progress towards elucidating the structures of colchicine's co-alkaloids 

 ^- ^^ and it is already apparent that at least several of tliese are simple 

 modifications of the structural pattern of colchicine. 



REFERENCES 



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