Litsine A: A New Aporphine Alkaloid from the Root Barks of Litsea glutinosa

A new aporphine alkaloid, named Litsine A, along with two known ones were isolated from the root barks of Litsea glutinosa. The new structure was determined by various spectroscopic techniques including 1D(H-1-, C-13-NMR), 2D-NMR(HMBC, HSQC, COSY and ROESY) and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), where as the structures of the known compounds were elucidated through 1D-NMR, mass spectrometric analysis and compared with the reported data in literature. The effects of these compounds on glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes were evaluated at the concentration of 10 mu M. The three compounds exhibited potent activity, with 1 as the best one, in increasing glucose uptake.