in the bark—and sometimes in the leaves—of harmine as well as 
occasional lesser amounts of harmaline (VII) and (+)-tetra- 
hydroharmine (VIII) (Chen and Chen 1939; Deulofeu 1967). 
Investigations of B. inebrians in more recent years have yielded 
harmine from the stems as well as minute amounts of what 
appears to be harmaline (O’Connell and Lynn 1953). An 
interesting chemical study of stems of the type collection of B. 
Caapi has indicated, in spite of the passage of some 115 years, 
the presence of harmine in concentrations matching that of 
freshly collected material (Schultes et al. 1969). Several new 
harman-type bases have been reported in B. Caapi by Japanese 
workers, including acetyl norharmine, ketotetrahydronorhar- 
mine, harmic amide, harmalinic acid, harmic acid methyl ester 
and harmine-N-oxide (Hashimoto and Kawanishi 1975, 1976). 
. H 
CH, 
R Other 
VI OCH, aa 
vo OCH, a 
VIII OCH, -N-H 
1x H are 
While Banisteriopsis Caapi is normally employed as a drink, 
recent indirect evidence from the northwest Amazon indicates 
that it may also be used as a snuff. Harmala alkaloids have been 
reported from snuff powders prepared from a vine said to be the 
source of an intoxicating drink, but voucher botanical speci- 
mens are lacking (Holmstedt and Lindgren 1967). 
Harmine has been isolated from Cabi paraensis Ducke of the 
eastern Amazon. Cabi is a genus closely allied to Banisteriopsis. 
146 
