176 



PLANT BASES 



[CH. 



CH— CH 



I I 



CHo CHij 



CH CH 



\/ \/ 



NH NH 



Pyrrole Pyrrolidine 



These alkaloids form a small group containing: 



Hygrine and cuskhygrine which occur in Coca leaves {Erythroxylon 

 Coca). 



Stachydrine which occurs in tubers of Stachys taherifera and leaves 

 of the Orange Tree (Citrus Aurantium) and in various other plants 

 (Betonica). The formula is : 



CH2 — CHq 



I I 



CO— CH CH2 



I \/ 

 N(CH3)2 



from which it is seen that it is really a betaine (see p. 172). 

 3. The tropane alkaloids. 



These are derivatives of tropane, which may be regarded as formed 



from condensed piperidine and pyrrolidine groupings. (Tropane is a 



liquid boiling at 167° C.) 



CH2 



CH CH 



NCH3 



CH2 — CHo 

 Tropane 

 The alkaloids in this group are limited to four natural orders and are 

 as follows: 



Solanaceae: Atropine occurs in the root and other parts of the 

 Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna), the Thorn Apple (Datura 

 Stramonium) and Scopolia japonica. Atropine may be represented as : 



CH— O— CO— CH • CH2OH 

 /\ I 



CH2 CHa 



I I 



CH CH 



\/ 

 NCH. 



C«H, 



