[Revision of structure of peimisine]

From the bulbs of Fritillaria siechuanica cultivated in Sichuan province, 5 alkaloids including peimisine (III) were isolated. Structure of peimisine reported in reference (2) was revised as 2 based on 2D-NMR (1H-1H, 1H-13C COSY and NOE), and FR-5 was proved to be peimisine on the basis of their melting point and TLC behavior. It is worthy of noting that 1) configuration of the oxygen at the C-17 in hupehenisine 3 is possibly erroneous; 2) both songbaisine 4 (A or B) and peimisine 2 should be the same compound on the basis of comparison of their 13C NMR data (Table 3) and 1H NMR spectra; 3) configuration of the oxygen atom at C-17 in the jervine-type steroidal alkaloids can not be safely proved by their IR, MS and the chemical shifts of some protons such as the methyls without the X-ray diffraction analysis, or the NOE technique and the 13C NMR method.