Alkaloids, Amides and Antispasmodic Activity of Zanthoxylum hyemale

Abstract

Two quinoline alkaloids, (-)-R-geilbalansine (1) and hyemaline (2), as well as aromatic amide, N-[2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-methoxyethyl)-2-methoxyethyl]benzamide (O-methylbalsamide) (3), were isolated as new natural products from the stem barks of Zanthoxylum hyemale, together with seven known compounds. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data (IR, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, MS). In addition, the antispasmodic activity of the crude extract of Z. hyemale and three other more abundant isolated compounds (4, 5 and 10) were studied in two different antispasmodic test models on isolated rat ileum and only the crude ethanolic extract presented antispasmodic activity.

Key words

Zanthoxylum hyemale - Rutaceae - alkaloids - amides - antispasmodic activity

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