Constitutents of Magnolia Grandiflora. III. Toxic principle of the wood.

The alcoholic extract of the wood of Magnolia grandiflora exhibited toxicity to mice when injected by the ip route. The toxic principle was found to be a phenolic quaternary alkaloid and was obtained as a colorless crystalline solid. Analytical and spectral data showed that it was identical with menisperine (also called chakranine and isocorydinium cation) which has not been previously isolated from the genus Magnolia.