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Variation in emetine and

cephaeline contents in roots of
wild Ipecac (Psychotria
ipecacuanha)

Article in Biochemical Systematics and Ecology March 2005

DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2004.08.005

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 Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243
www.elsevier.com/locate/biochemsyseco

Variation in emetine and cephaeline

contents in roots of wild Ipecac
(Psychotria ipecacuanha)
Ruth Maria Alves Garcia, Luiz Orlando de Oliveira*,
Maurlio Alves Moreira, Willian Silva Barros
xosa,
Departamento de Bioqumica e Biologia Molecular/BIOAGRO, Universidade Federal de Vic
xosa (MG), Brazil
36571-000 Vic
Received 23 July 2003; accepted 20 August 2004

Abstract

Ipecac (Psychotria ipecacuanha) is a perennial, medicinal herb that grows as clusters in the
understory of humid, shady areas of the Atlantic Rain Forest of southeastern Brazil. This
investigation followed the contents of emetine and cephaeline, the bioactive constituents, and
assessed root attributes in roots that were sampled periodically from four clusters of Ipecac
(VRB8, ITA1, ITA2, and ITA3) that were growing in natural conditions. HPLC analyses
showed that the content of the two alkaloids underwent monthly uctuations over one year
period. The concentration of emetine, but not cephaeline, diered signicantly among the
four clusters. The highest mean content of emetine was found in VRB8 (1.44%), followed by
ITA1 (1.14%), ITA2 (0.63%), and nally ITA3 (0.44%). The highest mean content of
cephaeline was found in ITA2 and ITA3 (0.26%), although it was not signicantly dierent
from ITA1 and VRB8 contents (0.15%). Correlation analysis revealed that contents of
emetine are signicant (P ! 0.01), but negatively correlated (0.23) with that of cephaeline.
Small sized roots characterized the low-emetine clusters ITA2 and ITA3, while the high-
emetine clusters ITA1 and VRB8 consistently yielded larger roots. In these four clusters,
emetine contents were correlated positively with fresh root weight, and with diameter and

* Corresponding author. Tel.: C55 31 3899 2964; fax: C55 31 3899 2373.
E-mail address: lorlando@ufv.br (L.O. Oliveira).

0305-1978/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.bse.2004.08.005
234 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243

weight of the dried root. Conversely, cephaeline contents were negatively correlated with
these three attributes.
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Alkaloid; Cephaelis; Cephaeline; Emetine; Ipecac; Psychotria ipecacuanha; Rubiaceae

1. Introduction

Native Brazilians employed the drug Ipecac or Ipecacuanha extensively and

taught the medicinal properties to early European settlers. The usefulness of Ipecac
resides in its expectorant, amebicide, and vomitive properties. These pharmacolog-
ical activities have been conrmed and the isoquinoline alkaloids emetine and
cephaeline identied as the major bioactive compounds of Ipecac (Shamma, 1972;
Bruneton, 1995; Scharman et al., 2000). Emetine acts mostly as expectorant and
amebicide, whereas cephaeline is responsible for the emetic activity. In the isolated
form, emetine is highly cytotoxic (Satou et al., 2002) and inhibits protein (Chow
et al., 1995; Sidhu and Omiecinski, 1998) and DNA syntheses (Burhans et al., 1991).
Ipecac syrup, a preparation used to induce emesis after poisoning, remains in
pharmacopoeias of many countries around the world, such as the Brazilian, the
French, the Japanese, and the United States pharmacopoeias. Ipecac syrup is
available as a non-prescription drug in some countries, as for example in the United
States, whereas it is considered as a controlled substance in other countries, such as
in France. When taken for poisoning, Ipecac may cause severe nausea, vomiting and
intestinal cramps. Cardiac and skeletal muscle myopathies are frequent manifes-
tations of chronic Ipecac abuse by patients with an eating disorder (Ho et al., 1998).
Because of their low excretion rate (Bruneton, 1995), Ipecac alkaloids remain in
tissues for a long time.
The botanical source of Ipecac is dened in pharmacopoeias as the dried roots
and rhizomes of either Cephaelis ipecacuanha (Brot.) A. Rich. or Cephaelis acuminata
Karsten (Fisher, 1973; Sharma et al., 1986; Bruneton, 1995). In Central America,
C. acuminata is the source of commercial Cartagena or Panamanian Ipecac
(Bruneton, 1995; Itoh et al., 1999). In Brazil, Ipecac is reportedly obtained from
C. ipecacuanha and is known as Rio, Mato Grosso or Brazilian Ipecac (Fisher, 1973;
Sharma et al., 1986; Bruneton, 1995). However, the name C. acuminata has been
considered a nomen nudum for Ipecac, that is, a name that has been published or
mentioned without a proper and complete description (Dwyer, 1980; Hateld et al.,
1981; Lorence, 1999). Instead, Psychotria ipecacuanha (Brot.) Stokes has been
proposed as a more suitable name for the species (Steyermark, 1972; Robbrecht,
1988) and, therefore, it is used in this work.
P. ipecacuanha still occurs naturally in the understory of tropical forests from
three well-dened geographic regions: 1 Central America (e.g. Panama, Nicaragua,
and Costa Rica) and northern parts of South America (Colombia); 2 southwestern
 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243 235

part of the Brazilian Amazon (states of Rondonia and Mato Grosso); and 3
Atlantic Rain Forest along the Brazilian coast (mainly the states of Bahia, Espirito
Santo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais) (Skorupa and Assis, 1998; Assis and
Giulietti, 1999).
Although morphological data allow joining Central and South America Ipecac
into a single species (Dwyer, 1980; Assis and Giulietti, 1999), alkaloid composition
readily distinguishes Panamanian from Brazilian Ipecac. While cephaeline prevails in
the drug obtained from Central America, emetine is the major alkaloid in roots
collected in Brazil (Bruneton, 1995).
Ipecac roots are reddish-brown, annealed, with characteristic rounded ridges and
are linked to a subterranean stem by a small, distinct lament (Fig. 1). The plants are
perennial, 0.20.5 m tall subshrubs that propagate by sexual and vegetative means
(Oliveira and Martins, 1998). In natural growth conditions, the individuals occur in
circular or elliptically shaped clusters with very well delimited borders and occupy
humid, shady areas under the forest canopy (Dwyer, 1980; Oliveira and Martins,
2002). Gupta et al. (1986) investigated the seasonal variation of emetine and
cephaeline contents in root of Panamanian Ipecac, without including cluster-to-
cluster or site-to-site variation in levels.
Evaluation of temporal uctuations of alkaloid contents among natural popula-
tions of Brazilian Ipecac is reported for the rst time in this study. Root samples
of wild Ipecac were collected periodically from four wild clusters from understory of
fragments of the Atlantic Rain Forest of southeastern Brazil. Assessments of alka-
loid content and root attributes allowed us to address the following four questions:
(1) What are the patterns of emetine and cephaeline uctuation in clusters of Ipecac
growing in natural conditions of the Atlantic Rain Forest of southeastern Brazil? (2)
Is there any signicant cluster-to-cluster variation regarding the mean content of
these two alkaloids? (3) Can the ratio emetine to cephaeline exhibit reversal through-
out the year? (4) Is alkaloid content correlated with attributes of the root
morphology?

2. Material and methods

2.1. Study clusters

Identication of clusters were accomplished during eld surveys in 19952000 as

part of a program studying the genetic conservation of this species in the Atlantic
Rain Forest of southeastern Brazil (Oliveira and Martins, 2002). Since the majority
of the clusters found during these surveys were very small, we anticipated that they
might not be able to provide a continual supply of roots for removal throughout the
entire period of this investigation. Only four out of 36 clusters had over 100 above
ground stems and were considered suitable for seasonal variation studies. This
restricted sampling procedure prevented further erosion of the endangered popula-
tions and allowed continuous sampling of given clusters. The clusters occur in two
forest fragments located 80 km apart. Three clusters (ITA1, ITA2, and ITA3) were
236 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243

Fig. 1. Roots of Psychotria ipecacuanha. (1) Filament between the root and the stem. (2) Characteristic
rounded ridges.

located in a fragment situated in Itaperuna (21  07#S/42  06#W, elevation ca. 190 m).
The remaining cluster (VRB8) was found in a fragment situated in Visconde do Rio
Branco (21  01#S/42  53#W, elevation ca. 400 m). Voucher specimens were deposited
in the Herbarium of the Federal University of Vicxosa, Brazil (VIC 26171, 26172,
26173, and 26818).
 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243 237

2.2. Root sampling

Roots were collected during visits carried out from December 1999 to December
2000 (ITA1, ITA2, and ITA3) and from September 1999 to September 2000 (VRB8).
Sampling intervals ranged from 20 to 40 days. In order to avoid further disturbance
to plant development, root removal was kept at minimum levels. Three roots with
mean diameter of 0.4 cm or larger were removed per cluster during each visit.
Whenever possible, these roots were detached from stems that were located on
opposite sides within the cluster.

2.3. Measurements of root attributes

Before root detachment, the length (in mm) and diameter (in mm) of the lament
that link the root to the stem (see Fig. 1) were recorded. After removal, soil particles
were cleaned o and the root put in plastic bags and brought promptly to the
laboratory. Subsequently, a 4 cm long section that contained the largest diameter
was cut o from each root. The number of rounded ridges cm1, mean diameter
(in mm), and weight (in g) were recorded from the fresh root segments. The root
segments were air-dried at room temperature indoors in the absence of sunlight for
about one week and their diameter (in mm), and weight (in g) were recorded again.

2.4. Sample preparation and alkaloid analyses

For analyses of alkaloid contents, the air-dried root segments were powdered to
yield three sub-samples of 100 mg. Alkaloid extractions were carried out based on
Hateld et al. (1981). Each sub-sample, as ne powder form, was mixed under
agitation with 0.1 M NH4OH (2 ml) for 1 min and extracted with ethyl ether (10 ml)
for 5 min at room temperature. The mixture was centrifuged for 5 min and the
organic layer removed and evaporated to dryness. HPLC analyses were performed
using a Shimadzu (10A) HPLC system and followed suggestions of Hateld et al.
(1981), Jha et al. (1988), and Cerdeira et al. (1995). Briey, the residue obtained
above was re-dissolved in 0.25 M sodium acetate (pH 5)acetonitrile (9:5) solution
used as the mobile phase. A Shympac CLC-ODS (M) column (250 mm ! 4.6 mm)
with the appropriate pre-column was used throughout the analyses. The ow rate
was 0.5 ml min1 with detection by monitoring absorbance at 288 nm. Emetine and
cephaeline were detected by comparison of their retention times with those of
authentic samples run under identical conditions. Concentrations of each alkaloid
were estimated by reference to calibration curves. Chromatographic analysis of each
sub-sample was replicated and the average concentration recorded. All solvents used
for these analyses were HPLC grade.

2.5. Data analyses

Dierences in alkaloid contents and root attributes among clusters were assessed
with statistical analyses. Correlation coecients between the content of individual
238 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243

alkaloid and root attributes were calculated after combining data from all clusters
and sampling dates. The relationships among the four clusters based upon root
attributes were estimated using clustering analysis. Statistical treatments were
performed with GENES (Cruz, 1997) and TFPGA version 1.3 (Miller, 1997)
software packages.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Variation in emetine and cephaeline content

The HPLC conditions employed in this investigation allowed the separation of

emetine and cephaeline. The contents of emetine and cephaeline in roots of the four
clusters over the entire period of investigation were obtained (Fig. 2). The results
indicated temporal oscillation in alkaloid content within a given cluster. The content
of cephaeline remained very low in all clusters, at all times. However, the pattern of
emetine accumulation clearly distinguished ITA1 and VRB8 from ITA2 and ITA3.
The two former clusters were characterized by a higher content of emetine through-
out the year. In contrast, the content of this alkaloid was consistently lower in ITA2
and ITA3. Emetine content in Itaperuna ranged from 0.18% (ITA2; December 07,
2000) to 1.55% (ITA1; December 07, 2000), while cephaeline content ranged from
0.08% (ITA1; December 21, 1999) to 0.52% (ITA2; May 23, 2000). VRB8 showed
emetine content that ranged from 0.81% (in April 11, 2000) to 2.24% (in September
12, 2000). Although VRB8 yielded the highest emetine concentration among the four
clusters, its content of cephaeline was consistently low, ranging from 0.07% (in
September, 1999) to 0.28% (in February, 2000).

3.2. Cluster-to-cluster variation

The results of analyzing the alkaloids in dierent clusters of P. ipecacuanha are

shown in Table 1. Comparison of means indicates that only the concentration of
emetine diers signicantly (p ! 0.05) among the four clusters. The highest mean
content of emetine among all clusters was found in VRB8 (1.44%), followed by
ITA1 (1.14%), ITA2 (0.63%), and nally ITA3 (0.44%). On the other hand, the
highest mean content of cephaeline was found in ITA2 and ITA3 (0.26%), although
this value was not signicantly dierent from the other two clusters (0.15%).
Our results showed that alkaloid contents varied among clusters located within
the same forest fragment. This fact can be exemplied by the contrasting chemical
proles we obtained for the three clusters from Itaperuna. The low amount of
emetine promptly distinguished ITA2 and ITA3 from the high-emetine cluster ITA1,
even though these three clusters are located within a single forest fragment and
separated from each other by distances around 50 m (Oliveira and Martins, 2002).
The presence of cluster-to-cluster variation for alkaloid content within Itaperuna is
an important indicator that programs aiming crop improvement of Ipecac should
 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243 239

2,5 ITA1
2,0
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0

2,5
ITA2
2,0
1,5
Alkaloid content (%)

1,0
0,5
0,0

2,5
2,0 ITA3
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0

2,5
VRB8
2,0
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0
09/09/99

10/14/99

11/11/99
12/21/99

01/09/00

02/15/00

03/14/00

04/11/00

05/23/00

06/27/00

08/28/00
09/12/00

10/31/00

12/07/00

Sampling Date
Fig. 2. Fluctuation in concentrations of emetine (-) and cephaeline (u) in dried roots of four clusters of
Ipecac (Psychotria ipecacuanha). Each bar on the graph represents the mean value of the alkaloid content
of three roots that were each subjected to alkaloid extraction and analyses in triplicate. Vertical lines show
standard deviations.

take into consideration. Collecting expeditions should anticipate therefore that

dierent chemical proles might exist at the within-population level and that
performance in alkaloid accumulation cannot be readily predictable solely based on
the geographic location of the cluster. We recognize, however, that a higher number
of clusters from dierent origins need to be analyzed so that the existence of
infraespecic alkaloid variation beyond the limits we recorded in this investigation
could be explored. Selection and further maintenance of any alkaloid-rich genotype
are feasible in Ipecac given that the species propagates by vegetative means (Oliveira
and Martins, 1988).
240 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243

Table 1
Comparison of means for the contents of emetine and cephaeline, and the ratio emetine/cephaeline in
roots of four clusters of Ipecac (Psychotria ipecacuanha)
Cluster N Emetine (%) Cephaeline (%) Emetine/cephaeline
ITA1 10 1.14b 0.15a 7.60
ITA2 10 0.63c 0.26a 2.42
ITA3 10 0.44d 0.26a 1.69
VRB8 12 1.44a 0.15a 9.60
Values in the same column marked with dierent letters are signicantly dierent from each other (Tukey
pairwise multiple comparison, p ! 0.05).

3.3. Emetine to cephaeline ratio

As shown in Table 1, the ratio of emetine to cephaeline content reported here

(overall 5.33) varied from 1.69 (in ITA3) to 9.60 (in VRB8). Our results also showed
that, regardless of the sampling date, no reversal in the ratio emetine to cephaeline
was observed in the high-emetine clusters ITA1 and VRB8 (see Fig. 3). On the other
hand, cephaeline content surpassed that of emetine in a few samples from the low-
emetine clusters ITA2 and ITA3 (Fig. 3). Correlation analysis combining data from
all clusters and sampling dates revealed that the content of emetine is signicant
(p ! 0.01), but negatively correlated (0.23) with that of cephaeline.
Although plant materials from Brazil had shown no signicant morphological
dierences when compared to those collected in Central America (Dwyer, 1980;
Assis and Giulietti, 1999), the content of emetine and cephaeline in plants of these
two geographic regions are contrasting. Root samples collected in Brazil show values
for emetine and cephaeline concentration that range from 1.5 to 1.7% and from 0.6
to 0.7%, respectively (Costa, 1978), while roots from Panamanian Ipecac yield

ITA2

ITA3

VRB8

ITA1

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20
Linkage Distance (%)
Fig. 3. Dendrogram obtained by UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method using an arithmetic average)
clustering method with Euclidian distance showing the relationships between the four clusters of Ipecac
(Psychotria ipecacuanha) based upon seven root attributes.
 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243 241

emetine and cephaeline concentrations that range from 0.49 to 1.26% and 0.65 to
1.19%, respectively (Gupta et al., 1986). Taken as a whole, our results corroborate
the general principle reported in the literature by which emetine is considered the
major alkaloid in Ipecac of Brazilian origin (Hateld et al., 1981; Bruneton, 1995;
Skorupa and Assis, 1998). These ndings let us to hypothesize that the biosynthesis
and accumulation of these two structurally related alkaloids may be physiologically
linked and, at least partially, under the control of genetic components that reect the
geographic origin of the plant material. From the biosynthetic point of view,
accumulation of emetine seems to be favored in Brazilian Ipecac in detriment of
cephaeline. Joint cultivation of Panamanian and Brazilian Ipecac in dierent
locations would level out the environmental factors that play a role in alkaloid
biogenesis and would reveal the actual contribution of the geographic origin to
preferential alkaloid biosysthesis.

3.4. Root attributes and their correlation with alkaloid content

The results showed that there are no signicant dierences among clusters for
lament length and diameter and for number of rounded ridges, the most
conspicuous traits in Ipecac roots (Table 2). Other root attributes, however, showed
signicant dierences among clusters (Table 2). Overall, the low-emetine clusters
ITA2 and ITA3 exhibited small sized roots, while the high-emetine clusters ITA1
and VRB8 were characterized by larger roots. This bimodal pattern became even
more evident when clustering analysis was applied to the data. A dendrogram
generated from individual pairwise comparisons of the seven root attributes was
obtained using UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method using an arithmetic
average) method with Euclidian distances (Fig. 3). Clade formation in this den-
drogram is interesting when both geographic origin and emetine content are taken
into consideration. This analysis brought together into a single clade the two clusters
of the Itaperuna population (ITA2 and ITA3) that had shown smaller root size and
the lowest mean content of emetine, while it inserted further apart ITA1, the high-
emetine cluster with larger roots. The clade formed by ITA2 and ITA3 appeared

Table 2
Comparison of means for seven root attributes measured in four clusters of Ipecac (Psychotria
ipecacuanha)
Root attributes ITA1 ITA2 ITA3 VRB8
Filament length (mm) 20.3a 20.8a 18.5a 20.6a
Filament diameter (mm) 0.21ab 0.23a 0.16a 0.21ab
Number of rounded ridges cm1 6.64a 7.62a 7.43a 7.37a
Diameter of the fresh segment (mm) 0.54a 0.47ab 0.44a 0.47ab
Weight of the fresh segment (g) 1.18a 0.82b 0.73b 0.96ab
Diameter of the dried segment (mm) 0.39a 0.31c 0.30c 0.35b
Weight of the dried segment (g) 0.67a 0.38bc 0.33c 0.46b
Values in the same row marked with dierent letters are signicantly dierent from each other (Tukey
pairwise multiple comparison, p ! 0.05). N Z 42.
242 R.M. Alves Garcia et al. / Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33 (2005) 233243

Table 3
Correlation coecients of all pairwise comparisons of emetine and cephaeline content with seven root
attributes after combining data from all clusters and sampling dates
Root attributes Emetine Cephaeline
Filament length 0.00 0.04
Filament diameter 0.07 0.04
Number of rounded ridges cm1 0.14 0.09
Diameter of the fresh segment 0.10 0.10
Weight of the fresh segment 0.22* 0.19*
Diameter of the dried segment 0.28* 0.39*
Weight of the dried segment 0.29* 0.34*
*Marked correlations are signicant at p ! 0.05.

showing closer relationship to VRB8, a high-emetine cluster that is located in

a dierent forest fragment.
Correlation studies (Table 3) showed that the content of emetine in these four
clusters was positively associated with the weight of the fresh root segment, and with
the diameter and weight of the dried root segment. Conversely, the content of
cephaeline showed a general pattern of negative correlation with these three attri-
butes. On the other hand, length and diameter of the lament, number of rounded
ridges cm1, and diameter of the fresh segment were attributes that did not show
signicant correlations with contents of either of the two alkaloids. However, signi-
cant positive correlations between morphometric (root size) and biochemical
markers (alkaloid content) indicate that root morphometry may be useful in
distinguishing contrasting alkaloid proles. Therefore, pre-screening of clusters
within Ipecac populations may be feasible during collecting expeditions using this
indirect, low-cost approach.

Acknowledgements

Financial support for this study was provided by FAPEMIG (Grant No CBB-
2614/98) and IFS (Grant No D/2815-1). Thanks are due to Dr. Jorge Dergam for
checking the grammatic and linguistic style and to Mrs. Ines C. Jose for technical
assistance with the HPLC analyses.

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