Structural relationships of stemona alkaloids: assessment of species-specific accumulation trends for exploiting their biological activities

On the basis of a comparison of 42 Stemona samples, representing eight different species collected and cultivated in Thailand, species-specific accumulation trends of Stemona alkaloids were analyzed. An overview was achieved by comparative HPLC analyses of methanolic crude extracts of underground parts coupled with diode array or evaporative light scattering detectors. All major compounds were isolated and their structures elucidated by NMR and MS analyses. Protostemonine- and stichoneurine-type derivatives dominated, from which the latter characterize S. tuberosa and S. phyllantha accumulating species-specific isomers of tuberostemonine (3). The widespread S. curtisii and S. collinsiae clearly deviate by protostemonine-type derivatives dominated by stemofoline (10) and/or didehydrostemofoline (11). Further diversification within this structural type results from a mutual accumulation of derivatives with a pyrrolo- or pyridoazepine nucleus, leading to chemical variability in S. curtisii and S. aphylla.