Alkaloids from Chilean species of the genus Rhodophiala C. Presl (Amaryllidaceae) and their chemotaxonomic importance

Abstract

The family Amaryllidaceae is widely distributed from temperate to tropical regions. Amaryllidaceae species from the
subfamily Amaryllidoideae can biosynthesize alkaloids with important physiological effects. Rhodophiala C. Presl is
one of the native genera of Amaryllidoideae of Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. However, despite the
diversity of this genus in Chile, their alkaloids have only been studied previously in one species of this country. The present
work aims to analyze the alkaloid profi les and chemotaxonomically compare three other Chilean species of Rhodophiala:
Rhodophiala bagnoldii (Herb.) Traub, Rhodophiala pratensis (Poepp.) Traub and Rhodophiala volckmannii Phil. Bulb
extracts were analyzed by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and alkaloids were characterized
according to retention time and fragmentation pattern. The skeleton type alkaloids detected were lycorine, crinine,
galanthamine, homolycorine, tazettine and montanine. All analyzed species showed different alkaloid profi les, indicating
these compounds can be used as a chemotaxonomic tool. Furthermore, the alkaloid types detected in this genus have
multiple reported biological properties and these species can constitute new sources of important medicinal products.