Quaternary ammonium compounds in plants with specific reference to the Fabaceae and Berbidaceae families

Option 1 - Known quaternary ammonium compounds

Choline (1) is the best characterised of the quaternary ammonium compounds found in plant tissues and has long been recognised as a component of most plant tissue and is shown to be prevalent in fourteen tissue of plants with Zea mays (Maize) being the most common of horticultural and agricultural source.¹ Recently, an analogous molecule of carnitine (2) is shown to be highly abundant in the asparagus and this author notes too the present of the highly psychoactive compound lycovatrine (3) in Lycopodium clavatum (Stag’s-horn Clubmoss) which would be near impossible to bring to a trading market. In addition, there is noted to be lunasine (4) from the shrub Lunasia quercitolia, which is highly uncommon away from the Asian and Australasian belt.

Spartium junceum (Spanish Broom) is known to form the quaternary ammonium salt derived from lupanine (5) which set the Rossington group in exercises to extract other Fabaceae seeds that are highly common in the North West of England. Through collection of seeds of Spartium junceum, Lotus corniculatus (Eggs and Bacon) and Coultea arborescens (Bladder Senna) in the autumn of 2020, a postdoctoral worker and an undergraduate worker have indicated the potential of quaternary ammonium-based compounds which the group is currently processing. We can reveal these sources in further communications but wish to protect some of our interests in this application. In addition, the group have other seed sources being worked through that are believed to be certainly novel alkaloid in nature.

In general, the Fabaceae plants, which contain root nodules of Leguminous sources, are nitrogen-fixing, so are an excellent starting point to investigate possible further alkaloids or quaternary ammonium salts. Surprisingly, many of the seeds collected by the group have no known extraction of seeds and this is of great interest for various reasons.

Option 3- The Berbidaceae family as natural sources

These plants are common throughout the United Kingdom and are easily grown in commercial, residential and agricultural settings and the author has high knowledge of these plants and extraction, in particular for Mahonia bealei (Leatherleaf Mahonia) and Darwinni berberis (Darwin’s Barberry) in particular (but aswell as Hedge, Japanese and Oregon) with magnotlorine (6) and berberine (7) afforded by Leatherleaf Mahonia and palmatine (8) and pseudopalmatine (9) afforded by Darwin’s Barberry.