Piperidine alkaloids of spruce (Picea) and fir (Abies) species

Piperidine alkaloids are reported for the first time from Picea omorika (Se rbian spruce), Abies balsamea (balsam fir), and Abies concolor (Rocky mount ain white fir). The alkaloids of P. omorika and P. sitchensis were similar, but not identical, and very different from those reported from P. breweri, a species with which they have been taxonomically linked. We were not able to detect alkaloids in A. procera, A. lowiana, or A. grandis. The total ba se fraction of A. bifolia yielded a nonbasic monoterpenoid known as Muller' s lactone, presumed to be an artifact of the isolation procedure. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.