Incorporation of phenethylisoquinolines into colchicine in isolated seeds of Colchicum autumnale

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0031-9422(97)00242-2

The physiological parameters for application experiments using immature seeds of Colchicum autumnale were optimized, so that incorporation rates in the range of 10% and higher were consistently obtained with intermediate precursors. Application of tritium and ¹³C-labelled phenethylisoquinolines showed that N-methylation occurs prior to the substitution of ring C and that the free hydroxy group in position 13 of autumnaline is necessary for the phenolic coupling reaction. Autumnaline gives rise to a vast array of metabolites in seeds of this plant.