Divergence of the indole alkaloid pattern in two somatic hybrid plant cell subcultures of Rauvolfia serpentina x Rhazya stricta.

The alkaloid pattern in Rauvolfia serpentina x Rhazya stricta somatic hybrid cell subcultures R x R17 K was studied and 11 compounds were identified on the basis of their spectral data. Among them, 1,2-dehydroaspidospermidine, rhazinilam, stemmadenine and tabersonine were reported as typical of Rhazya species while vomilenine and sarpagine are characteristic of Rauvolfia alkaloid metabolism. The alkaloid pattern in R x R17 K subcultures was compared with that in the other hybrid cell subcultures (R x R17 M) which were developed from the same origin hybrid cultures but have been maintained separately for about ten years. The data presented here exhibit pronounced divergence of the alkaloid patterns in R x R17 K and R x R17 M cell subcultures.