A steroidal alkaloid isolated from the bulbs of Fritillaria irnperialis L. and
Petiliurn eduardi, the base crystallizes in short, colourless needles and has
[α]D - 35.4° (CHCI3). It yields crystalline salts and with sucrose gives a
sequence of characteristic colours on addition of dilute H2S04 from yellowgreen, through pale green, pink, cherry red, to dark violet. The structure has been
determined from mass spectrometry and the NMR spectrum, the latter proving
the presence of tertiary hydroxyl and methyl groups at C-20.
