FT-Raman investigation of alkaloids in the liana Ancistrocladus heyneanus

The applicability of the micro-FT-Raman technique for studying alkaloids in vitro and for observing alkaloids in plant cells is demonstrated. This technique is examined using fresh plant material of Ancistrocladus heyneanus, a tropical liana known to produce pharmacologically interesting naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids as secondary metabolites. It will be shown that it is possible to localize and identify some of these alkaloids in different parts of the plant by means of Raman microspectroscopic studies. Data on the in situ structure and the spatial distribution can be obtained, which could provide information about the biosynthesis of the alkaloids in the plant. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biospectroscopy 4: 113–120, 1998