Abstract

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are well-known isoquinolines which have demonstrated a wide range of biological activities such as antiviral, anticancer, acetylcholinesterase inhibition, antimalarial, among others. Mass spectrometry (MS) studies based on capillary gas chromatography (CGC), paper spray (PS), and leaf spray (LS) ionization were carried out for alkaloid investigation of the native Brazilian species Hippeastrum aulicum, along with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Thirty-one alkaloids were identified including the new compound haemanthamine N-oxide. The results from PS-and LS-MS techniques were consistent with those observed in CGC-MS analysis. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first study combining NMR, CGC-MS and the ambient ionization-mass spectrometry (PS-and LS-MS) on Amaryllidaceae plants.