Coptisine is an

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 ...

found in Chinese goldthread ('' Coptis chinensis''), greater celandine, and opium. Famous for the bitter taste that it produces, it is used in Chinese herbal medicine along with the related compound

berberine Berberine is a Quaternary ammonium cation, quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, occurring naturally as a secondary metabolite in some plants including species of ''Berberis'', from which its name ...

for digestive disorders caused by bacterial infections.

References

Isoquinoline alkaloids Methylenedioxyphenethylamines Quaternary ammonium compounds Tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids {{alkaloid-stub