Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Senecio vulgaris L. growing in Iceland.

Abstract

The distribution of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the Icelandic flora has been studied for the first time. In addition to the isolation of senecionine, seneciphylline, and retrorsine from Senecio vulgaris L., the presence of riddelline was confirmed by high resolution NMR spectroscopy. The presence of this alkaloid in S. vulgaris has previously been controversial. Furthermore, senecionine oxide and seneciphylline oxide were isolated by preparative centrifugal chromatography.