THE BIOGENESIS OF ALKALOIDS: X. THE ORIGIN OF THE N-METHYL GROUPS OF THE ALKALOIDS OF BARLEY

Abstract

Sodium formate-C14and C14-methyl-D- and L-methionine were each fed to sprouting barley under identical conditions and radioactive alkaloids were isolated from the leaves and roots. Degradation of these alkaloids showed that the D- and L-methionines were an equally efficient source of.the methyl groups of N-methyltyramine and hordenine, the root alkaloids; but D-methionine was a less efficient source than L-methionine of the methyl groups of gramine, from the leaves. The formate was a source of the methyl groups of all the alkaloids, however, less efficient than the methionines, and a very poor source for the methyl groups of gramine. The significance of these results is discussed.