Aspidophytine is an

indole Indole is an organic compound with the formula . Indole is classified as an aromatic heterocycle. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered pyrrole ring. Indoles are derivatives of indole ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

that has attracted significant attention from synthetic chemists.''"A Concise Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Aspidophytine" ''Nicolaou, K. C., Dalby, S. M., Majumder, U. ''J. Am. Chem. Soc.'' 2008, ''130(45)'', 14942–14943 () An extract of the cockroach plant, aspidophytine is an insecticidal substance particularly effective against

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

es. It is one of the two components of the dimer haplophytine.Column: Totally Synthetic
by Paul Docherty, at the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

; published October 9, 2009; retrieved October 3, 2014 In his suicide note, Harvard doctoral student Jason Altom mentioned his stress in attempting to devise a synthetic pathway for the aspidophytine sub-unit of haplophytine as a contributing factor to his psychological breakdown.Lethal Chemistry at Harvard
by Stephen S> Hall, in ''

the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''; published November 29, 1998; retrieved October 3, 2014

References

Tryptamine alkaloids Alkaloids found in Apocynaceae Lactones Catechol ethers Indolizidines Phenethylamine alkaloids Plant toxins {{alkaloid-stub