MIND NURTURE KRISHNA Page 1 of 3
ALAKLOIDS
❖ Definition:
The term “alkaloid” (alkali-like) is commonly used to describe basic heterocyclic nitrogenous
compounds of plant origin that are physiologically active. Derived from amino acids.
❖ DEVIATION FROM DEFINITION:
• Basicity: Some alkaloids are not basic e.g. Colchicine, Piperine, Quaternary alkaloids.
• Nitrogen: The nitrogen in some alkaloids is not in a heterocyclic ring e.g. Ephedrine,
Colchicine, Mescaline.
• Plant Origin: Some alkaloids are derived from Bacteria, Fungi, Insects, Frogs, Animals.
• Biosynthesis: Some alkaloids are not derived from amino acids e.g purine, steroidal alkaloid.
❖ Types of Alkaloids-
i) True alakaloids- It is derived from the aminoacid and have nitrogen in the heterocyclic ring.e.g; ATROPINE
ii) Proto-alkaloids- (Non-Heterocyclic Alkaloids)
This group of alkaloids have the nitrogen atom originated from an amino group but is not present in
a heterocyclic ring. Eg- Ephedra Alkaloid, Capsicum alkaloids
iii) Pseudo Alkaloids
These are not derived from amino acids but have nitrogen in heterocyclic ring.e.g;Caffeine
❖ FUNCTION IN PLANTS-
i) They may act as protective against insect and herbivores due to their bitterness and toxicity
ii) May act as source of nitrogen in case of nitrogen deficiency
iii) They sometimes act as growth regulators in certain metabolic system
iv) They may be utilise as a source of energy in case of deficiency in carbon dioxide assimilation.
❖ OCCURRENCE,
• Occur in bacteria(Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and rarely in fungi (pscilocin from hallucinogenic
mushrooms).
• Rarely occur in lower plants
• Dicots are more rich in alkaloids than monocot
• Families rich in alkaloids- Apocynaceae, Rubiaceae, Solanaceae and Papaveraceae
• Families free from alkaloids- Rosaceae, Labiatae
• Rarely do plants contain more than 1 type of alkaloid.
• All alkaloids of one plant will have a common biogenenetic origin
❖ DISTRIBUTION of ALKALOIDS
Alkaloids occur in all plant parts, but are usually localized in one organ (e.g. the bark or seeds).
Plant part Example
All parts Datura
Bark Cinchona
Seeds Nux vomica
Roots Aconite
Fruits Black pepper
Leaves Tobacco
Latex opium
MIND NURTURE KRISHNA Page 2 of 3
❖ Isolation of alkaloids
Step-1
• Take sample and crush it up into a very fine powder.
• The reason this is necessary is the finer the particles, the greater the surface area becomes and the
better the extraction goes.
Step-2
• Remove all the fats, terpenes, and other oils from the sample, because we are not interested in them.
• This can be easily done by extracting them from the powder with hexanes or petroleum ether.
• Solvents like hexanes and petroleum ether work best because they are very good at solvating non-
polar compounds like fats, oils, and terpenes alike.
• These can then be discarded since we don't need them.
Step-3
• Next, we need to extract the alkaloids that are left with a solvent.
• Methanol or ethanol are best solvents for extracting alkaloids.
• The methanol or ethanol solvent will pull all of the alkaloids out of the crude material.
• This extraction needs to be done multiple times to make sure all of the alkaloids get isolated.
• An instrument called a rotary evaporator can then be used to evaporate off the solvent.
• At this point, we have our crude alkaloid mixture (natural sources rarely contain only one alkaloid).
Step-4 Purification-
i) Direct crystallisation from solvent
ii) Steam distillation
iii) Chromatographic techniques
iv) Gradient pH techniques
❖ QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL TESTS FOR ALKALOIDS
General tests answered by all alkaloids are as follows:
1. Dragendorff’s test:
• To 2–3 mL of the alkaloid solution add few drops of Dragendorff’s reagent (potassium
bismuth iodide solution).
• An orange brown precipitate is formed.
2. Mayer’s test:
• To 2–3 mL of the alkaloid solution add few drops of Mayer’s reagent (potassium mercuric
iodide solution).
• White brown precipitate is formed.
3. Hager’s test:
• To 2–3 mL of the alkaloid solution add few drops of Hager’s reagent (saturated solution of
picric acid).
• Yellow precipitate is formed.
4. Wagner’s test:
• To 2–3 mL of the alkaloid solution add few drops of Wagner’s reagent (iodine– potassium
iodide solution).
• Reddish brown precipitate is formed.
MIND NURTURE KRISHNA Page 3 of 3
❖ THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY and PHARMACEUTICAL APPLICATION
