QUANTITATION OF THE ANTI-HIV ALKALOIDS MICHELLAMINE-A AND MICHELLAMINE-B BY HIGH-PRESSURE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Michellamines A and B, naphthylisoquinoline dimeric alkaloids from the leaf of a previously undescribed species of the genus Ancistrocladus, show anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity in an in vitro screen, In order to determine the distribution of these alkaloids in t he genus, the level of production in the new species, and to gain an u nderstanding of the horticultural aspects of production, a sensitive h igh pressure liquid chromatography analytical method requiring a small biomass was developed, This method resolved michellamines A and B and congeners and enabled quantitation of each, The production of the mic hellamines was found to be limited to the new species, A, korupensis. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.