Caulophylum thalictroides, also commonly known as blue cohosh, is a plant root located in the Northeastern region of the United States and used as a natural medicine supplement. Believed to induce uterine contractions during labor, this root has been used in homeopathic techniques for centuries, albeit little information is known about the active agents involved in inducing such contractions. Several members of the alkaloid family of compounds have been previously pointed to as the active agents within Caulophyllum thalictroides including N-methylcytisine, anagryine, baptifoline, and magnafoline. As a lead discovery initiative, the isolation of said active agents coupled with testing on rat uterine horn tissue to measure contractile response may shed more light on the implications of using blue cohosh as a natural homeopathic supplement.Current research is focused on methodology development for the extraction and isolation of the various alkaloids, with particular interest in N-methylcytisine. Additionally, synthetic N-methylcytisine has been used to develop a GC/MS methodology, which allows for the quantification of N-methylcytisine in crude blue cohosh extracts. This methodology has provided some surprising results when testing extracts from different blue cohosh suppliers. Preliminary data from physiological testing on rat uterine horns has been able to demonstrated dose dependent contractile response; however, further research will be needed to determine exact correlations as well as the biological pathways involved in the contractile responses. Through such intersections between the fields of chemistry and physiology, this research will not only provide greater information on the specific chemical response to uterine contractions from blue cohosh, but it will also pave the way for future lead discovery processes that can use similar methodology to extract, isolate, and quantify active agents and relate them to known physiological responses. By detailing exact chemical relationships with homeopathic techniques, this information can be effectively harnessed and incorporated to better improve current Western medicinal practices.

Methodology development for the extraction and isolation of <i>N</i>-methylcytisine in the <i>Caulophylum thalictroides</i>

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Methodology development for the extraction and isolation of N-methylcytisine in the Caulophylum thalictroides