Rhizomes of Corydalis nobilis (L.) Pers. (3percent of alkaloids) contain (+)-tetrahydropalmitine, (+)-bicuculline and (+)-corytuberine as the main constituents of the tertiary alkaloid fraction.Protopine, (+)-corypalmine and (+)-stylopine, which also belong to the dominant alkaloids, were isolated in lesser amounts.As minor alkaloids were isolated (+/-)-tetrahydropalmatine, (+)-corydaline, allocryptopine, cryptopine, (-)-scoulerine, (+)-adlumidine, (+)-sinactine, (+/-)-corlumine, isoboldine, (+)-corybulbine, (+/-)-stylopine and (-)-isocorypalmine.The fraction of quaternary protoberberine alkaloids afforded coptisine, dehydrocorydaline, palmatine, corysamine, jatrorrhyzine and cis-N-methylstylopinium hydroxide.Aobamidine (Z-adlumidiceine enol lactone), isolated as the principal alkaloid of aerial parts (0.3 percent of alkaloids), is obviously an artifact arising from bicuculline N-metho salt during the isolation process.Further dominant alkaloids of the tertiary fraction were adlumidine, bicuculline, protopine, (+/-)-tetrahydropalmatine and (+/-)-corlumine; as minor alkaloids were isolated corytuberine, scoulerine, corypalmine, cryptopine, isocorypalmine, corybulbine, (+)-corydalidzine, and unidentified alkaloids CN 1 (C23H25NO5, m.p.211 deg C) and CN 2 (m.p.261 deg C).Quternary protoberberine fraction afforded coptisine and palmatine.Nineteen of the mentioned alkaloids were isolated froom this species for the first time.Tubers of C.intermedia (L.) Merat (0.7 percent of alkaloids) afforded protopine, tetrahydropalmatine and corydaline as the main alkaloids and allocryptopine, canadine, stylopine, palmatine, dehydrocorydaline, berberine, coptisine as minor alkaloids, together with traces of bicuculline and magnoflorine.Dominant alkaloids of the aerial part (0.73 percent of alkaloids) were bicuculline, bulbocapnine, protopine, stilopine and an unidentified phenolic base, m.p. 258 deg C.Isoboldine, scoulerine, allocryptopine, corydaline, canadine, coptisine, palmatine and berberine were identified as the minor alkaloids.
