Japonisine A, a fawcettimine-type Lycopodium alkaloid with an unusual skeleton from Lycopodium japonicum Thunb.

Abstract Japonisine A, a novel fawcettimine-type Lycopodium alkaloid with an unusual skeleton and two new fawcettimine-type ones, along with 20 known Lycopodium alkaloids, were isolated from the whole plants of Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR, and HR-ESIMS, as well as by comparison with the literature data. Notably, japonisine A (1) was the first example of fawcettimine-related Lycopodium alkaloid with a 2-oxopropyl attached at C-6. All the isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α-glucosidase. Unfortunately, the results indicated that all the compounds were inactive against the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and α-glucosidase.