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Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain oxygen or sulfur. More rarely still, they may contain elements such as phosphorus, chlorine, and bromine. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction, or solvent extractions followed by silica-gel column chromatography. Alkaloids have a wide range of pharmacological activities including antimalarial (e.g. quinine), antiasthma (e.g. ephedrine), anticancer (e.g. homoharringtonine), cholinomimetic (e.g. galantamine), vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine), antiarrhythmic (e.g. quinidine), analgesic (e.g. morphine), antibacterial (e.g. chelerythrine), and antihyperglycemic activities (e.g. piperine). Many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic (e.g. psilocin) and stimulant activities (e.g. cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, theobromine), and have been used in entheogenic rituals or as recreational drugs. Alkaloids can be toxic too (e.g. atropine, tubocurarine). Although alkaloids act on a diversity of metabolic systems in humans and other animals, they almost uniformly evoke a bitter taste. The boundary between alkaloids and other nitrogen-containing natural compounds is not clear-cut. Compounds like amino acid peptides, proteins, nucleotides, nucleic acid, amines, and antibiotics are usually not called alkaloids. Natural compounds containing nitrogen in the exocyclic position (mescaline, serotonin, dopamine, etc.) are usually classified as amines rather than as alkaloids. Some authors, however, consider alkaloids a special case of amines.

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Related publications (6)

Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Indole Alkaloids (+)-Condyfoline, (-)-Tubifoline, (+)-Dasycarpidone and (+)-Uleine

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The development of a titanium(III)-mediated cascade electrocyclisation/rearrangement for theenantioselective total synthesis of indole alkaloids (+)-condyfoline and (-)-tubifoline serve as the basisof

EPFL2022

Total Synthesis of Alstilobanine C, Undulifoline and Alstilobanine B

Nicolas David Gaeng

The total synthesis of pentacyclic monoterpene indole alkaloids is the focus of this thesis. Total syntheses of (±)-alstilobanine C, (±)-undulifoline and (±)-alstilobanine B, three natural products fr

EPFL2018

"Divergent Total Synthesis of (-)-Rhazinilam, (-)-Leucomidine B and (+)-Leuconodine F" and "Synthetic Studies Towards Sarpagine-Related Indoles"

Dylan Jean Robert Dagoneau

The work presented in this thesis focuses on the synthesis of monoterpene indole alkaloids. The first part describes the divergent total synthesis of (-)-rhazinilam, (-)-leucomidine B and (+)-leuconod

EPFL2017

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Alkaloid

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Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Generally, recreational drugs are divided into three categories: depressants (drugs that induce a feeling of relaxation and calmness), stimulants (drugs that induce a sense of energy and alertness), and hallucinogens (drugs that induce perceptual distortions such as hallucination).