Alkaloids — Swanholm et al. 
305 
alkaloids before. They are: Charpentiera, Cler- 
montia, Cyanea, Dubautia, Jacquemontia, Pelea, 
Straussia, Tacca, and Touchardia. Those en- 
demic to the Hawaiian Islands are: Clermontia, 
Cyanea, Dubautia, Straussia, and Touchardia. 
Pioneering work in these genera should afford 
fruitful rewards for workers interested in 
alkaloids. 
SUMMARY 
Preliminary investigations concerning the 
presence of alkaloids in 96 species of Ha- 
waiian plants, representing 77 genera and 49 
families, indicated that 30 species contained 
alkaloids. Thirty-two species gave negative 
tests while the remainder were listed as 
doubtful. 
The testing procedure consisted of extract- 
ing various plant parts with hydrochloric acid 
and testing the extract separately with six test 
reagents. The acid extraction was supple- 
mented in some cases by an ammonia-mixed 
organic solvent solution. The precipitates 
were graded visually on a trace, light, or heavy 
basis. Only those species which gave a light 
and/or heavy precipitate with all six test re- 
agents were classified as containing alkaloids. 
Among the 30 species which gave positive 
tests for alkaloids, 9 genera were represented 
for which no previous alkaloid information 
exists. These 9 genera, 5 of which are endemic 
to the Hawaiian Islands, should afford fruitful 
sources for future studies for alkaloids. 
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