Stemmadenine is a

terpene Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes ar ...

indole Indole is an aromatic heterocyclic organic compound with the formula C8 H7 N. It has a bicyclic structure, consisting of a six-membered benzene ring fused to a five-membered pyrrole ring. Indole is widely distributed in the natural environme ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Th ...

. Stemmadenine is believed to be formed from

preakuammicine Preakuammicine is a terpene indole alkaloid. Preakuammicine is thought to be formed from 4,21-dehydrogeissoschizine and lead to synthesis of stemmadenine Stemmadenine is a terpene indole alkaloid. Stemmadenine is believed to be formed from ...

by a carbon-carbon bond cleavage. Cleavage of a second carbon-carbon bond is thought to form

dehydrosecodine Dehydrosecodine is a terpene indole alkaloid Indole alkaloids are a class of alkaloids containing a structural moiety of indole; many indole alkaloids also include isoprene groups and are thus called terpene indole or secologanin tryptamine alk ...

. The enzymes forming stemmadenine and using it as a substrate remain unknown to date. It is thought to be intermediate compound in many different biosynthetic pathways such as in Aspidosperma species. Many alkaloids are proposed to be produced through intermediate stemmadenine. Some of them are: *

Catharanthine Catharanthine is a terpene indole alkaloid produced by the medicinal plant '' Catharanthus roseus'' and ''Tabernaemontana divaricata''. Catharanthine is derived from strictosidine, but the exact mechanism by which this happens is currently unkno ...

and Tabersonine in ''

Catharanthus roseus ''Catharanthus roseus'', commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to M ...

'' * Subincanadines D-F in ''

Aspidosperma subincanum ''Aspidosperma subincanum'' is a timber tree native to Brazil and Bolivia. It is common in Cerrado vegetation in Brazil. It was first described by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius ...

'' It is also present as product in plant like in ''

Tabernaemontana dichotoma ''Tabernaemontana dichotoma'', commonly known as Eve's apple, is a plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. The specific epithet refers to the species' dichotomous A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). I ...

'' seeds.

Pharmacology

It has hypotensive and weak muscle relaxant properties.

References

Tryptamine alkaloids Piperidine alkaloids Heterocyclic compounds with 4 rings Methyl esters {{alkaloid-stub

Pharmacology

See also

References