The leaves of the Phoebe scortechinii (Gamb.) Kochummen Comb. Nov. (Lauraceae), afforded one new proaporphine-tryptamine dimer; (-)-phoebescortechiniine (1), along with two known ones; phoebegrandine A and phoebegrandine B. The proaporphine, tetrahydropronuciferine (2), was isolated for the first time as a natural product. The alkaloids were elucidated primarily by means of high field NMR and HRMS.
Seven new indole alkaloids (1-7) comprising four vobasine, two tacaman, and one corynanthe-tryptamine bisindole alkaloid were isolated from the stem-bark extract of a Malayan Tabernaemontana. Two of the new vobasine alkaloids (1, 3), as well as 16-epivobasine (15) and 16-epivobasenal (17), showed appreciable cytotoxicity toward KB cells (IC50 ca. 5 μg/mL). The structure of the known Tabernaemontana alkaloid tronoharine (8) was revised based on newly acquired NMR data, as well as X-ray diffraction analysis.